Tax write-offs: A significant increase in the amount of tax written off by the Revenue Commissioners last year is highlighted in the annual report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG).
Tax write-offs amounted to €172.5 million in 2004, with the largest increase coming in the category covering liquidations, receiverships and bankruptcy. Total write-offs in 2003 were €119.4 million.
The report explains that the €53 million increase was mainly due to a review and write-off of old insolvency debt on record.
The amount written off in the liquidation/receivership/bankruptcy category was €88.5 million last year, up from €29.4 million the previous year. The second largest category in 2004 was the ceased trading, no assets category, where the total written off was €40.4 million.
The report says that cases under general investigation, potential Ansbacher cases, and cases under the control of the Criminal Assets Bureau, are excluded from all write-off procedures.
Internal audit in Revenue examined a sample of 171 cases representing 22 per cent of the value of non-automated write-offs.
It found that seven of the 171 cases should have been referred to the Dedicated Pursuit Unit but were not. It also found that one case, involving €25,000, should not have been written off because there was an overpayment on record that equalled the outstanding tax. In the event the overpayment was offset against the outstanding tax.
Total tax outstanding at March 31st 2005 was €1.2 billion. Of this €292 million was income tax and €289 million was VAT. The next highest category was PRSI, at €176 million. Of the total outstanding income tax, €212 million related to the period from 1990 to 2002. The corresponding figure for VAT was €157 million.
The latest figures for special investigations show that by the end of July 2005, €362 million had been paid by persons who had bogus non-resident accounts but had not come forward for the Revenue's voluntary disclosure scheme. The amount paid under the voluntary disclosure scheme was €227 million. The number of persons who made disclosures under the scheme was 3,675 while the number of persons who made settlements post the scheme, was approximately 8,300, according to the report.
The highest earning special investigation was that into offshore assets, which had yielded €754 million by the end of July 2005. The total amount yielded by all special investigations was €2 billion.
