US tech giant Microsoft paid more in corporation tax in Ireland last year than it did in US federal taxes, writes Killian Woods. The $6.5bn in taxes paid in Ireland of $50.5 billion in profits made here brings it close to the State’s largest taxpayer, Eli Lilly.Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has spent more than €9 million to acquire the first four of up to 15 Rathmines homes it has committed to purchasing beside a contentious MetroLink station site. Killian has the details.PTSB secured backing from 91.3 per cent of shareholders for its takeover by Austria’s Bawag at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Thursday, but support from shareshareholderside the State’s majority holding failed to hit the 75 per cent target, leaving open the possipossibility second court-enforced ballot, writes Joe Brennan.Government departments will face greater sanctions for breaching their spending allocations, Minister for Public Expenditure. Jack Chambers has warned. Eoin Burke-Kennedy writes that, at the launch of the Government’s midyear spending review, the Minister said Cabinet colleagues seeking extra money in the upcoming budget would have to find it within their existing allocations.Healthcare group PHX Ireland, the parent of the Lloyd Pharmacy group, paid €58 million to acquire the rival family-owned McCabes Pharmacy business, new financial filings for the company have confirmed. Killian Woods reports.Barry O’Halloran reports that State public transport group CIÉ earned almost €6.6 million profit last year as revenues topped €2 million last year from €1.8 million in 2024.Only three out of nearly 2,000 investors have come forward to claim a share of nearly $2 million due to them in windfall cash from litigation and tax refunds held in an investment fund that is being wound up, the High Court heard.Businessman John Teeling’s Great Northern Distillery is joining with Chinese brewing giant, Tsingtao to sell Irish whiskey into one of the world’s fastest growing drinks markets. Barry O’Halloran has the details.He also reports that State airports company DAA has begin the search for a successor to Kenny Jacobs who stepped down as chief executive after a court settlement in February. Staff responsible for testing the safety of medical devices at the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) are to take industrial action from Tuesday in a dispute over a proposal by the authority to make one person redundant in a dispute that union, Unite, says could impact on talks about a new national pay deal. Emmet Malone reports.As Minister for Finance Simon Harris promises tax cuts for middle Ireland in the budget, the income debate in advance of the budget has taken off. So are middle earners “ripped off”, asks Cliff Traylor in Smart Money. Like most things, the answer is not completely straightforward. As construction of data centres was frozen in Ireland amid concerns about grid capacity, Irish builders who had developed expertise in the sector have followed data centre groups into new markets. Paul Colgan reports.Finally, in his column, Eoin Burke-Kennedy notes that Elon Musk’s acquisition of X was never about money. The world’s richest men was buying a political engine, an unparalleled pitch on one of the world’s premier news sites, to further his and Trump’s political agenda.If you’d like to read more about the issues that affect your finances try signing up to On the Money, the weekly newsletter from our personal finance team, which will be issued every Friday to Irish Times subscribers.