Irish Revenue To Step Up Action Against Tax Evaders

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

31 July 2001

Following the release of the Revenue Commissioners annual report on Thursday, Revenue Chairman Dermot Quigley has reaffirmed the department's commitment to strengthening its action against tax evasion.

In its report, the Commission revealed that the scope of the Ansbacher inquiry has widened considerably, and that it is now investigating over 500 individuals, companies, and trusts with regard to the Ansbacher inquiry. So far, only £8 million has been collected in connection with these accounts, but Mr Quigley insisted last week that he was not surprised that the amount received thus far was so small, and predicted that payments of outstanding tax on bogus non-resident accounts would increase dramatically as the November 15th deadline approaches.

Defaulters who are uncovered after the deadline face the imposition of interest and penalties on outstanding monies, publication of their names, and possible prosecution. However, the Revenue Commissioners report revealed that the record on prosecutions so far has been poor; despite the high instance of tax fraud uncovered, only three convictions were made in fiscal 2000, with just two serving custodial sentances.

In an attempt to address the lack of public confidence in the Irish taxation system, Mr Quigley vowed to address this issue as a matter of priority: 'We will establish a prosecutions division, which will help us to increase prosecutions, particularly in cases where the nature and scale of the tax evasion warrants such action,' he promised.

However, there was some good news for the government, as it was revealed that offshore investors at National Irish Bank have now made payments of over £24 million in outstanding tax. The Revenue Commissioners Report also revealed that the tax take for 2000 was £21.4 billion; £2.9 billion up on 1999 figures, and around £1.1 billion higher than the 2000 estimate.

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