DUBLIN (Reuters)

Ireland recorded a budget surplus of around 7% of modified gross national income in 2024, mainly due to the payment of a 14 billion-euro ($14.5 billion) back tax bill by Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), as reported by the finance ministry on Monday.

Ireland had initially forecast a surplus of about one-third of that level, before a European court ordered Apple to pay back taxes due to unlawful tax treatment. This judicial ruling pushed last year’s general government surplus to 21.9 billion euros.

Initially, Ireland expected to receive 8 billion euros of the back taxes this year, but nearly 11 billion euros entered state finances by the end of December, increasing 2024 corporate tax receipts by 63.9% year-on-year to 39.1 billion euros.

Excluding the funds from Apple, the underlying corporate tax income of approximately 28 billion euros was lower than the 29.5 billion forecasted by the finance department in October but still significantly exceeded the previous record of 23.8 billion euros collected in 2023.

Irish corporate tax receipts, primarily from U.S. firms, have surged nearly sevenfold over the last decade, independent of the Apple ruling, contributing to the healthiest public finances in Europe.

This strong financial position enabled ministers to increase total government spending by 9.5% year-on-year, or 9 billion euros last year.

($1 = 0.9636 euros)