The annual cost of the major tax reliefs to the Exchequer has climbed to almost €8.4 billion, according to figures released by the Revenue Commissioners writes Cliff Taylor, Economics Editor.

The cost of the 28 major allowances on which costs are available was supplied to Labour finance spokeswoman Ms Joan Burton. She pointed out that the Revenue was not able to provide estimates on the cost of a further 33 tax allowances - including many of those used as tax shelters by the wealthy.

Ms Burton is calling on the Revenue and the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, to accelerate the procedure for collecting information on the cost of all tax reliefs, a matter she will raise today at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service.

Each year, the Revenue Commissioners publish the cost of tax reliefs and allowances in their statistical report. The new figures provided to Ms Burton show that their latest estimate is that the major tax incentives whose cost is known involve a loss to the Exchequer of €8.38 billion, some €1 billion higher than the previous estimate made last year.

The latest data take the most recent figure for each allowance, which relate to the year 2000 in some cases and to 2004 in others.

The €8.4 billion total compares to total tax revenue of about €34 billion. However, a full breakdown is not available.

Some €1.9 billion of the costed reliefs are capital allowances to business, which include allowances for companies replacing machinery and equipment, as well as a range of special allowances.

Pension-related allowances - for pension funds and those who contribute to them - are also major items. Exemption from capital gains tax for profits on the sale of principal private residences is also costly to the tax authorities.

The cost of Special Savings Incentive Accounts this year is estimated at €540 million.

The Revenue confirmed that it is unable to give any figure for the cost of another 33 allowances. These include stallion stud relief, relief for investment in research and development, exemption in respect of certain patent income and smaller reliefs such as those related to donations to public libraries and to the National Sports Council.

Among those for which no figures are available are incentives associated with a range of property investments in areas such as multi-storey car parks and rural and urban renewal schemes. Studies by the Revenue showed that these schemes were central to the very low amounts of tax paid by some wealthy people.

Information recently released to Ms Burton showed that 41 taxpayers with income over €500,000 - including 11 millionaires - paid no tax at all in 2001. The figures "will cause particular anger among PAYE workers", according to Ms Burton.

The Revenue has taken steps to start collecting information on the cost of some reliefs - for example future income returns will include details of stallion stud fees and commercially managed woodland, both currently exempt. But detailed figures are not likely to be available until late 2005, Ms Burton pointed out, and "this means that measures to curb abuses are unlikely to be introduced before 2007".