Proposed Cooperation Between Irish Big Businesses And Revenue Commission Slammed

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

01 June 2005

Responding this week to the Revenue Commission's proposed 'Co-operative Approach To Tax Compliance', the Irish Taxation Institute has argued that the planned system would discriminate against the majority of Irish taxpayers.

In a draft document recently published for comment, the Revenue Commission explained that:

"Cooperative compliance envisages a new form of relationship between Revenue and business, one where both parties work together to achieve the highest possible level of voluntary compliance across all the taxes and duties payable."

"Cooperative compliance is increasingly becoming a feature of the relationship between business and Revenue Administrations across the world, reflecting the growing sense of a mutual interest in being certain about tax liabilities and leaving no room for surprises. A common feature of the relationship is a clear understanding of the actions needed by both business and the Revenue Administration to support high compliance standards."

"The Irish model will involve simple voluntary agreement between individual businesses and the Revenue Administration, expressing the broad commitments of both to effective cooperation, which will be known as Compliance Framework Agreements."

Businesses which sign up to Compliance Framework Agreements will receive a "favourable" level of customer support, the Revenue revealed.

However, the ITI feels that the high levels of customer support afforded to those being dealt with by the Large Cases Division will be given to the detriment of other, smaller taxpayers.

"It is simply unacceptable that Revenue would actively promote a two-tier level of customer service and in our view it is unjust to propose to actively discriminate against different categories of taxpayer in such a manner," outgoing president of the Institute, Frank Hussey wrote in a letter to Revenue Commission chief Frank Daly.

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