Irish Taxman Chasing Missing Executives For Unpaid Tax

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

07 October 2004

The Irish Revenue Commission has collected some EUR75 million in taxes from six executives working for multinational firms, although attempts to track down several others who owe taxes relating to share options have so far proved fruitless, the authorities have reported.

The revelation emerged following the recent publication of the annual report compiled by Ireland's Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, into the various probes conducted by the government into tax evasion in the Republic, which have yielded around EUR1.56 billion to date.

The back tax collected from the six executives in question forms part of a wider investigation into 18 similar cases involving a total of EUR88.5 million in unpaid tax.

However, the Revenue has reported difficulties in its attempts to trace the culprits, as some appear to have left the country.

“Seven of the 18 cannot be located and are understood to be abroad,” the report stated.

The Revenue Commissioners have reportedly contacted their counterparts in European Union countries and are invoking mutual assistance agreements in a bid to locate the missing executives.

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