asked the Minister for Finance, in relation to the 1988 tax amnesty (1) the total amount of interest due on payments made, but waived, under the terms of the amnesty and (2) the number of persons or companies from whom payments were received; and of these, the number of persons or companies who had not previously been on the records of the Revenue Commissioners.
Written Answers. - Tax Amnesty.
21.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that, because of the vast number of individual cases involved covering all the taxes concerned, statistics are not readily available for the total amount of interest due by persons and companies who came within the terms of the amnesty.
In 1988, as a result of the amnesty, 357,000 more payments were receipted by the Collector-General than in 1987. This represents a 30 per cent increase in 1988 as compared with 1987. As many of those availing of the amnesty submitted multiple payments in respect of their various tax liabilities it is not possible to state the number of taxpayers from whom payments were received.
As already announced the vast bulk of cases coming under the amnesty represented the clearance of arrears by people already on the records of the Revenue Commissioners. Only a small number of completely new cases came forward.