Ireland's Revenue Commissioners Still On The Hunt For 'Mattress Money'

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

16 July 2002

The Revenue Commissioners announced at the weekend that they will continue to actively pursue Irish tax evaders who purchased property overseas with undeclared income during the country's economic boom period, and at the time of the euro changeover.

According to an Irish Independent report released yesterday, the tax authority's Offshore Assets Unit was established after investigations such as the Ansbacher probe, and the investigation into National Irish Bank's Clerical Medical Insurance scheme in the Isle of Man revealed the prevalence of the practice of purchasing foreign holiday homes with undeclared income.

Recent estimates have suggested that some 10,000 Irish residents disposed of around 600 million euros in 'mattress money' in the run-up to the introduction of the single European currency, buying houses in France, Spain, and Portugal.

The majority of those purchases were legitimate, and made with declared income, the Revenue Commissioners revealed. However, a 'substantial number' used undisclosed earnings and assets to buy property abroad, according to a spokesman for the tax department.

'We are checking it out, but we believe a percentage of them may have hidden money, especially around the time of the changeover to the euro,' he told the newspaper.

The spokesman announced that the special offshore unit will be focusing on gathering new information on property deals made by Irish residents, to be matched against their tax returns.

The Irish Independent report also revealed that investigators will also be targeting property purchases made and offshore accounts held by Irish taxpayers in the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Liechtenstein, and the Cayman Islands.

Recommended