News & Statements

Deficit of €19 billion expected in 2020: Taxes down €2.1 billion & expenditure up €17.9 billion on 2019 – Donohoe & McGrath

An Exchequer deficit of €12,316 million was recorded to end-December 2020. This compares to a surplus of €647 million in 2019. The €12,963 million year-on-year deterioration in the Exchequer balance is primarily driven by increases in voted expenditure. Cumulative tax receipts of €57,165 million at the end of the year were down by 3.6 per cent or €2,149 million on last year. Receipts in 2020 benefitted from a strong performance in January and February, as well as solid income and corporate tax receipts, which have compensated — to an extent — for sharp declines in other tax heads, notably VAT and excise receipts.