asked the Minister for Finance if he will state the amount of arrears of income-tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners during the financial year ended on 31st March, 1937, in respect of years previous to that year, and how many years have they gone back in their claims.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Income Tax Arrears.
The amount of income-tax collected by the Revenue Commissioners in each financial year naturally has always included considerable sums in respect of income-tax assessed in earlier years but uncollected for one reason or another, and, having regard to the rates of tax ruling in previous years, is a fairly constant proportion of the whole collection in any year.
The total amount of arrears of income-tax collected during the financial year ended on the 31st March, 1937, in respect of the year of assessment 1935-36 and previous years was approximately £1,200,000. The Revenue Commissioners are bound by statute to claim arrears of income-tax for all years of assessment irrespective of how far back the years are.