Irish 2024 budget surplus hits 7% of national income on Apple windfall

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland recorded a budget surplus of around 7% of modified gross national income in 2024, mainly due to most of a 14 billion-euro ($14.5 billion) back tax bill paid by Apple flowing into the exchequer, the finance ministry said on Monday.

Ireland had forecast a surplus of around one-third of that level before a European court order in September that Apple pay the back taxes due to unlawful past tax treatment pushed last year's general government surplus to 21.9 billion euros.

Ireland initially expected to draw down 8 billion euros of the back taxes this year but almost 11 billion euros flowed into the state coffers by the end of December, pushing 2024 corporate tax receipts 63.9% higher year-on-year to 39.1 billion euros.

Excluding the Apple funds, the underlying corporate tax take of around 28 billion euros was weaker than the 29.5 billion forecast by the finance department in October but still far ahead of the record 23.8 billion euros collected in 2023.

Irish corporate tax receipts, which are mainly paid by U.S. firms, have increased almost seven-fold over the last decade entirely separate to the Apple ruling and handed the government the healthiest public finances in Europe.

That allowed ministers to increase total government spending by 9.5% year-on-year or 9 billion euros last year.

($1 = 0.9636 euros)

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Catarina Demony)