Dail Public Accounts Committee Finds Only 25% of Tax Fines Paid

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

06 June 2005

The Irish Dail's Public Accounts Committee on Thursday launched its 2002 Interim Report on the Department of Finance, the Revenue Commissioners and the National Treasury Management Agency.

The report examined, amongst other issues, the random audits conducted by the Revenue Commission, the prosecution of tax evaders and non-filers, the tax authority's investigation into offshore accounts held by Irish citizens, and the tax relief regime operated by the Department of Finance.

The PAC found that of the fines imposed on tax defaulters, only around 25% of the amount is usually paid, and additionally revealed that relatively few prosecutions are pursued by the Revenue against serious tax evaders.

The Committee therefore recommended that the tax authority increase the number of cases brought forward for prosecution of serious tax offences in order to demonstrate its determination to deal with the tax evasion problem.

It also suggested that the Commission's prosecution strategy in relation to non filers needs to continue to be actively managed to improve the effectiveness of its contribution to the overall compliance strategy, and that there should be more effective co-ordination between Revenue, the Courts Service and the Garda Síochána in the collection of fines imposed for tax offences.

Finally, it announced that:

"The Committee requests Revenue to bring forward a more effective method of fine collection."

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