Dail Asks For Information On Tax Exiles

by Jason Gorringe, for LawAndTax-News.com, London

30 March 2004

According to reports in the national media, the Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has asked the Revenue Commission for figures on the number of Irish tax exiles currently on its books, and for details of the ways in which the tax authority monitors their periods of residence and non-residence in the Republic.

This followed the recent announcement that Revenue Commissioners are planning to monitor more closely those who claim to be non-resident in Ireland for tax purposes.

Under current law, anyone claiming non-resident status in Ireland must be out of the country for a minimum of 183 days each year. However, a day does not count for tax purposes if the person in question leaves the country before midnight.

Speaking last Thursday in response to a question from Fine Gael TD Michael Noonan, Revenue Chairman Frank Daly was unable to give details on how many Irish citizens claim to be non-resident for tax purposes.

However, he revealed that there are many different ways in which the tax authority can ascertain how long a person has spent in the Republic, including checking credit card receipts and passports, sharing information with the tax authorities in other countries, and checking the records held by the country's Customs Department.

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