Irish Life And Permanent's IoM Customers Rush To Settle Tax Debts

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

28 October 2003

The warning to its Irish customers to put their tax affairs in order recently issued by Irish Permanent, the Isle of Man subsidiary of financial services firm, Irish Life and Permanent, appears to have had an impact, according to a Sunday Business Post report.

Earlier this month, the bank wrote to 3,000 of its customers suggesting that as a result of the Revenue Commissioners' probe into the affairs of Bank of Ireland (with which the Isle of Man subsidiary maintained a number of clearing accounts), they would be well advised to ensure that their tax affairs were in order.

"Bank of Ireland is required to furnish any relevant information by the 17 November, 2003. Given the clearing accounts maintained by us within Bank of Ireland, it is possible that details of some aspects of your business relationship with us may be returned by Bank of Ireland to the Irish Revenue Commissioners," Irish Permanent told its customers recently, continuing:

"Clearly if your tax affairs are entirely in order, this should not be a cause of any concern to you. If you have any such concerns, we would advise you to obtain tax advice."

According to the Sunday Business Post, many Irish Permanent customers appear to have heeded this warning, with the bank's Isle of Man subsidiary receiving a "good rush" of enquiries from concerned Irish residents.

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