Irish budget deficit now even higher

Irish Exchequer Returns for year to October show a deficit of €11 billion - €7 billion higher than October 2007. Government's tax revenues were down €4.3 billion than had been forecast for the first ten months of the year. Tax receipts to October were almost €33.5 billion, over €3 billion less than in the same period in 2007. VAT was more than €1.6 billion behind target where reduced spending by Irish consumers was one of the biggest driving forces. In fact, VAT is the category of tax that is most behind start-of-year targets. Stamp duty and capital gains tax revenues are also less than expected which is primarily down to the collapse of the property market. The corporate sector is also paying less tax because they are making lower profits as a result of the slump. Reflecting this, the amount collected through corporation tax was €560 million behind target by the end of October.