45126-Invest. Qual-No111

Investment in Qualitypercentage points in the late 1980s. It has fallen slowly in the 1990s,from just over 40.4 per cent in 1990 to around 37 per cent in 2002.Current revenue consists of tax revenue, PRSI and levies, non-taxrevenue accruing to the Exchequer (including the surplus of theCentral Bank, the National Lottery surplus, and dividends fromState companies) and miscellaneous receipts of GovernmentDepartments known as appropriations-in-aid (current EU receiptsare included as appropriations-in-aid). If one focuses specifically ontax revenue, this has shown even greater stability during the 1990s.The share of taxation in GNP in 2000 was 30.8 per cent, comparedto tax revenue excluding motor vehicles duty (now given to localauthorities) of 30.6 per cent in 1990. There was, however, asignificant fall in the tax share in GNP in the past two years with adecline to an estimated 28.2 per cent in 2002. Factors influencingthe tax share in GNP are discussed further below.FIGURE 5.1Total Government Expenditure as a Percentage of GNP, 1987-2002Source: Department of Finance. The 2002 figures are outturn estimates fromBudget 2003.Government Balance and DebtAfter falling sharply in the 1987 to 1989 period, the deficit 1 wasstable for the first half of the 1990s. From 1995 it began falling and1. In discussing the deficit in this paragraph, the focus is on the EU definition ofthe General Government Balance (GGB) as a percentage of GDP.182