asked the Minister for Finance in view of the willingness expressed by one of the major banks to facilitate old age non-contributory pensioners in obtaining refunds of the DIRT tax, whether he has satisfied himself regarding the refusal of the Revenue Commissioners to supply the bank with reclaim forms and the refusal of the Revenue Commissioners to deal with forms prepared by the bank; whether he will direct the Revenue Commissioners to co-operate with the banks in making available on bank premises the necessary forms to enable elderly people to reclaim the DIRT tax; and his views on whether the present refusal of the Revenue Commissioners to co-operate with the banks amounts to an unnecessary and unfavourable obstacle for such people.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - DIRT Tax.
8.
I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that simplified forms for claiming repayment of retention tax were designed in 1987 in order to make the application process as uncomplicated as possible for claimants, particularly for elderly persons not previously in the tax net. When a claimant makes contact initially with the relevant tax office, the tax official involved decides from the information supplied which particular form is appropriate. The Revenue Commissioners considered that this was the best way to deal with claims from individuals in differing circumstances for refunds or retention tax.
I understand that a request was made by one of the banking groups to the Office of the Chief Inspector of Taxes in May 1987 to have a supply of claim forms No. 54D — (Claim for Repayment of Retention Tax — for completion only by persons who are exempt from tax) made available for distribution to the group's branch offices. The request was not acceded to at the time because it was felt that banks would not generally be aware of a customer's tax status and would not be in a position to advise as to the claim form or forms which would be appropriate. In those circumstances it was considered that the issue of supplies of claim forms to banks would be likely to complicate the repayment process and could cause confusion and delay in dealing with refund claims.
The Revenue Commissioners have advised me that they are prepared to have discussions with representatives of the banks to see if it would be practicable to give the banks a role in this matter.
I thank the Minister for his reply and for acceding to some of the points made in the question. Would the Minister not agree that if the banks were not in a position, in the eyes of the Revenue Commissioners, to deal with the refund of DIRT tax on behalf of people over 65 years of age, in many cases those people would hardly be in a position to do the same thing?
This is because there would be some confusion because the banks may not know which form the claimant should fill in. Initial contact was made last May, 12 months, and has not been pursued since. Discussions can take place now with the banks and the Revenue Commissioners to see if they can co-operate in the way the Deputy has described.
Would the Minister agree with me that it is desirable that where refunds are simply not available but due to taxpayers that the Revenue Commissioners should take the initiative by having easily understood self-explanatory forms available where these people are likely to find themselves and where they are likely to have the question of tax refund in their mind? I suggest to the Minister that there is an element of making this procedure somewhat obscure and unavailable in the hope that it will not be availed of. Would the Minister not agree with me that it is desirable that the Revenue Commissioners should make these forms available in the most convenient place especially to people who are getting on in years and find it difficult to contact Revenue on their own behalf or to make the relevant representation?
The intention was not to try to hide the kind of system that existed or prevent anybody from having access to the forms they would require to get refunds of deposit interest retention tax. The point raised by the banks was not pursued at the time. Maybe they are interested in pursuing it now, but we will see the result of the discussions between the Revenue Commissioners and the banks concerned. I agree with Deputy McDowell that it would and should be the intention of the Revenue Commissioners to ensure that, for any purpose, their contact with the public is streamlined and efficient. The Deputy will accept that, in relation to the points we discussed here in the course of the last few weeks regarding the introduction of self-assessment and so on, the Revenue Commissioners are more than anxious to ensure that everybody is aware of what is happening.