Increased tax collection left State with €1.4bn surplus last year

Increased tax collection left the government with a €1.4 billion surplus last year despite a sharp boost in State spending, according to the latest figures.

Central Statistics Office (CSO) numbers published on Tuesday show that government revenues rose 6.2 per cent to €89 billion in 2019.

Spending rose more than €4 billion over the same period to €87.6 billion, leaving the State with a surplus of €1.4 billion, €400 million more than in 2018, the CSO said.

An increase in taxes of €4.1 billion drove much of the growth in State revenues. A breakdown of the figures shows that the government collected more than €64.5 billion in income and taxes last year, from €60.5 billion in 2018.

EU recovery fund: how the €750bn plan will work

---

UK borrowing surged to record £128bn during lockdown

---

Beware simple slogans as the answer to complex problems

---

Macron and supporters greet EU recovery fund agreement as historic turning point

---

Social contributions rose to €15.9 billion from €14.9 billion.

The sale of government goods and services climbed to €6 billion from €5.9 billion, and investment income increased to €1.6 billion from €1.3 billion.

The State paid its workers €23 billion in 2019, compared with €22 billion in 2018, which was the government’s biggest single cost.

Central government collected €84.6 billion of 2019 revenues. Local councils collected the rest through commercial rates levied on businesses, social housing rents and other sources.

At the same time central government was responsible for €82.6 billion of the total spending, with councils spending the balance.

This left the government with a €1.95 billion surplus. However, councils overspent by €500 million last year, leaving the State with an overall €1.4 billion surplus, the CSO said.