Tax receipts at near record high last year

Tax receipts amounted to €45.79 billion in 2015, up 10.6 per cent on the previous year and the second highest figure recorded in the history of the State.

According to the Revenue Commissioners' annual report, which was published on Wednesday, receipts were 7.8 per cent ahead of target as Exchequer returns were boosted by a strong trading performance and increased domestic consumption and investment.

Almost all taxes and duties showed substantial year-on-year growth with corporation tax receipts rising by 49 per cent and capital gains tax, up 28 per cent. Customs Duty rose by 20 per cent, while VAT was up 7 per cent.

The report shows a sharp rise in people and businesses meeting their obligations through online channels. Last year, almost 1.9 million payments amounting to €47.1 billion, were made through Revenue Online Service (ROS), up 11.2 per cent on 2014 and up 12 per cent in value terms.

The number of transactions made through Revenue’s PAYE anytime service increased by 16 per cent to almost 748,000, while more than 1.3 million customs declarations were processed by the body’s automated entry processing system, 96 per cent of which were cleared immediately.

Revenue carried out 6,612 audits, which yielded €327.9 million for the Exchequer last year as the overall yield from its audit and compliance interventions rose by 5.3 per cent to €642.5 million.

The organisation said it also carried out 454,979 non-audit compliance interventions in 2015 that yielded €314.6 million.

According to the report, the number of businesses and individuals seeking to make phased payments due to financial hardship is now down to almost 50 per cent of the numbers at the peak of the downturn. Last year, outstanding debt increased by 6.95 per cent, or €117 million, to €1.81 billion. The debt available for collection decreased by 9.21 per cent, or €84 million, to €823 million.

A renewed clampdown on tax evasion yielded over €60 million last year with more than 160 cases settled over the 12 months.

Revenue said it collected €63.6 million from 68 cases associated with major legacy investigations last year, including action against holders of offshore accounts.

“We will take the same approach to the data released in the ‘Panama Papers’ as we have to all our offshore assets investigations,” the organisation said.