Figures from the Department of Finance show that the amount taken in in tax in January was down 17.7% compared with January last year.
There was an Exchequer deficit of €780m in the month, compared with €747.2m in the same month last year. Tax receipts were just over €3 billion, down from just over €3.7 billion a year earlier. Spending also fell, however, by almost 13% to just over €4.1 billion.
Income tax receipts of just over €1 billion were almost 10% down from January 2009, while the VAT take was down almost 18% to €1.6 billion, a sign that consumer spending remains weak.
Corporation tax slumped 66.5% to €41m, while the take from stamp duties dropped almost 41% to €30m. Excise duties were just over 16% lower at €260m.
At Budget time, the Government forecast total tax receipts of €31 billion for the whole of 2010, a 4.7% fall from last year.
A breakdown of spending showed big falls in day-to-day spending in most Government departments, apart from Enterprise, Trade & Employment and Social & Family Affairs, where spending was 15.6% ahead of last year.
Reflecting the big increase in Government borrowing over the past year, the cost of paying interest on the national debt almost trebled from January last year to €310.8m.
