The Exchequer could be in line for more bumper corporate tax receipts this year and it may continue into next year, according to one analyst.
Peter Vale, Tax Partner with Grant Thornton, said yesterday's Exchequer returns showed very strong continued momentum for the tax heading, despite January and February not typically being big months on the corporate tax front.
"There were very positive comments from the Department yesterday. They indicated that there was good profitability in large corporations across a range of sectors, not just tech and pharma, in the first couple of months of the year," he explained.
"If we see that continue into the rest of the year, then I think we're actually going to see more bumper receipts this year over what was really a stellar 2022," he added.
Mr Vale cautioned that there was a lot of uncertainty out there which could see the situation changing quite rapidly.
However, he pointed out that the 15% minimum corporate tax rate - which Ireland signed up to in late 2021 - had yet to be implemented.
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"Despite the fact that we still have the 12.5% rate, we still see these bumper recurring windfall tax receipts so what's going to happen next year? The 15% rate doesn't kick in until next year so on the face of it, all things remaining equal, we should see a further increase in corporate tax receipts next year," he said.
There have been repeated warnings from official sources that surging corporation taxes from large multinationals posed a risk to the country's finances.
Corporation tax receipts amounted to €22.6 billion in 2022 - a near 50% increases on 2021.
However, the receipts are largely concentrated amongst a small number of large companies.
It is estimated that €1 in every €8 collected by the State in comes from just 10 highly profitable corporates.
Goodbody warned recently that lower corporate tax receipts arising from falling profits of big tech companies could pose more of a risk to the economy here than the recent spate of job losses in the sector.
