Takings from VAT, stamp duty and customs & excise payments accounted for 51% of total tax revenue in 2005. Income from VAT, which was up 13% in 2005, came in at a record 12.1bn.

VAT is now the single most important tax for the government, as takings from income tax increased by just 6% to 11.3bn. The VAT coffers were swollen by sales of new cars, new houses and apartments and big-ticket consumer items.

Given the jump in salaries and employment levels, some have questioned the low level of expansion in income tax receipts during the year.

Some economists argue that there is nothing to worry about, as changes in the budget before last and other factors mean that like-for-like income taxes increased by about 10%.

However, others point to the fact that the nature of the jobs available in the Irish economy is changing as many higher-paid skilled manufacturing posts have been lost and replaced with lower-paid positions in the services sector. This crimps the amount of income tax paid as those on the lowest incomes escape the tax net.

Stamp duty raked in an incredible 10.5m a day for the government last year.

Revenues from Ireland's most inequitable tax were up 30% to 2.7bn in 2005 as it generated 600m more than forecast by Department of Finance officials at the start of the year.

Rising house prices underpinned the stamp duty bonanza as, while the tax is collected on share transactions and bank cards, property transactions represent the vast bulk of the income. By November of last year the average price of secondhand homes had risen by 7% year-on-year, while the cost of starter homes increased by 12%.

The particular jump in the cost of houses for firsttime buyers is clearly due in part to the changes announced in the December 2004 budget that were theoretically aimed at removing many people from the stamp duty net.

But as the stamp duty threshold was increased, the price of starter homes moved ahead.

The higher stamp duty also reflected greater movement within the property market as many owners traded up to larger houses at higher prices. As this column has pointed out previously, stamp duty is a tax on mobility. Takings from customs and excise were up 7% to 5.5bn which also reflected higher consumer spending.

With consumer behaviour now generating more than half of the state's income, should we be worried that the exchequer is too dependent on this sector? In the short term, things look fine. With the ending of the SSIA scheme expected to unlock 15bn in savings, there is no sign of the spending boom slowing over the next two years. But further ahead, some experts believe the tax base will have to be widened significantly.

Closing off loopholes and cracking down on the black economy will only go so far and a property tax is already being debated.

Introducing one will take political guts and a longterm vision, something regularly lacking in both politicians and the electorate.