Revenue Statistics 2016 - Ireland
Tax-to-GDP ratio
Tax-to-GDP ratio over time
The OECD’s annual Revenue Statistics report found that the tax-to-GDP ratio in Ireland decreased by 5.1 percentage
points, from 28.7% in 2014 to 23.6% in 2015, due to Ireland's exceptionally high GDP growth in 2015.¹ The corresponding
figures for the OECD average were an increase of 0.1 percentage point from 34.2% to 34.3% over the same period.
Since the year 2000, the tax-to-GDP ratio in Ireland has decreased from 30.8% to 23.6%. Over the same period, the
OECD average in 2015 was slightly above that in 2000 (34.3% compared with 34.0%).
Ireland
%
35
34.0
33.5
33.2
33.2
33.1
33.6
OECD
33.7
30.8
30.8
30
28.6
27.3
27.9
28.9
29.4
33.8
33.2
32.4
32.6
33.0
27.4
27.1
27.1
33.4
33.8
34.3
34.2
30.4
28.5
27.5
28.2
28.7
25
23.6
20
Tax-to-GDP ratio compared to the OECD
Ireland ranked 33rd out of 35 OECD countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio in 2015.* In 2015, Ireland had a tax-toGDP ratio of 23.6% compared with the OECD average of 34.3%. In 2014, Ireland was ranked 29th out of the 35 OECD
countries in terms of the tax-to-GDP ratio.
%
46.6 45.5
44.8 44.0
43.5 43.3 43.3
39.4
OECD average, 34.3%
38.1 37.8
37.1 37.0 36.9 36.8 36.6 34.5 33.8
33.6 33.5 32.8 32.5
32.3 32.1 32.0 31.9 31.4
30.0 29.0
27.9 27.8
26.4 25.3
▼
23.6
20.7
17.4
* Australia, Japan and Poland are unable to provide provisional 2015 data, therefore their latest 2014 data are presented within this country note.
¹ Between 2014 and 2015, Ireland experienced unusually high GDP growth, at 32.4% in nominal terms (26.3% in real terms). This exceptionally high GDP growth was mainly driven by
transfers of intangible assets (including licences and patents) into the Irish jurisdiction by a number of multinational enterprises. Although the nominal amount of tax revenues increased
by 8.8% from 2014 to 2015 (measured in national currency), the higher GDP growth during this period caused the tax to GDP ratio in Ireland to fall sharply, decreasing from 28.7% in
2014 to 23.6% in 2015. For more information, see page 28 of Revenue Statistics 2016.
In the OECD classification the term “taxes” is confined to compulsory unrequited payments to general government. Taxes are unrequited in the sense that benefits provided by
government to taxpayers are not normally in proportion to their payments.
Tax structures
Tax structure compared to the OECD average
The structure of tax receipts in Ireland compared with the OECD average is shown in the figure below.
Ireland
OECD unweighted average
%
32
26
24
21
20
17
13
8
9
8
1
Taxes on personal Taxes on corporate
income, profits and income and gains
gains
Social security
contributions
13
6
1
1
Payroll taxes
Taxes on property
Value Added
Taxes/Goods and
Services Tax
Taxes on goods
and services
(excluding
VAT/GST)
1
Other
Relative to the OECD average, the tax structure in Ireland is characterised by:
» Higher revenues from taxes on personal income, profits and gains; property and value added taxes.
» Equal to the OECD average from taxes on payroll and goods and services (excluding VAT/GST)
» A lower proportion of revenues from taxes on corporate income and gains and social security contributions.
Tax structure
Tax Revenues in national currency
Tax structure in Ireland
Euro, millions
Position in OECD²
%
D
2014
2013
D
22 349
20 482
+ 1 867
40
40
-
9th
10th
+1
Personal income, profits and gains
17 727
16 204
+ 1 522
32
32
-
7th
7th
-
Corporate income and gains
4 618
4 273
+ 345
8
8
-
16th
15th
-1
9 581
9 020
+ 561
17
18
-1
28th
28th
-
2014
Taxes on income, profits and capital gains
D
2013
2014
2013
of which
Social security contributions
Payroll taxes
Taxes on property
Taxes on goods and services
of which VAT
Other¹
TOTAL
338
314
+ 24
1
1
-
12th
12th
-
4 242
3 633
+ 609
8
7
+1
11th
12th
+1
18 645
17 046
+ 1 599
34
34
-
14th
14th
-
11 521
10 372
+ 1 149
21
20
+1
17th
18th
+1
298
270
+ 28
1
1
-
15th
14th
-1
55 453
50 765
+ 4 688
100
100
-
-
-
-
Tax revenue includes net receipts for all levels of government; figures in the table may not sum to the total indicated due to rounding.
1. Includes income taxes not allocable to either personal or corporate income.
2. The country with the highest share being 1st and the country with the lowest share being 35th.
Source: OECD Revenue Statistics 2016 http://www.oecd.org/tax/tax-policy/revenue-statistics.htm
Contacts
David Bradbury
Michelle Harding
Michel Lahittete
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Policy and Statistics Division
[email protected]
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Head, Tax Data & Statistical Analysis Unit
[email protected]
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Statistician
[email protected]