asked the Minister for Finance if he is aware that in a number of areas requests have been made by inspectors of taxes to small traders to submit accounts certified by an auditor, and that the fee for audit amounts to about £15 15s. per year, which in some cases is larger than the tax liability; and, if so, if, in view of the fact that persons in receipt of larger remuneration are not subject to this charge, he will take steps to ensure that this requirement is discontinued in the case of traders whose audited accounts have shown that their net profit is under £500 per year.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Small Traders' Income-tax Accounts.
As regards the first part of the question, small traders are not normally requested to produce audited accounts for purposes of income-tax. If the Deputy has any cases in mind in which there may have been a deviation from this normal practice and is good enough to furnish me with details, I shall look into the matter. As for the second part of the question, a direction extending to all cases on the lines suggested would not be advisable, since a business which at one time was a small one may have grown considerably owing to emergency or other conditions.