'While August is a relatively quiet month on the tax
receipts front, there was more good news in the latest Exchequer
figures.
Income tax receipts were particularly strong and appear to be
holding steady at close to 20% above pre COVID (August 2019)
levels, which is remarkable. With unemployment continuing to fall,
it now looks clear that there will be a large income tax surplus at
year-end.
August is a quiet month for VAT but evidence to date suggests
that the strong VAT figures earlier in the summer will be
replicated in next month's figures. It looks increasingly
clear that, rather than a post-COVID temporary spending spike,
consumers are continuing to spend.
There was more good news on the corporation tax front, with a
surprisingly large figure of over €1bn received in what is
normally a quiet month. While the latter months of the year are
crucial, it now looks likely that receipts for the full year will
be ahead of 2020, itself a strong year. Driving this
