Séamus Cullimore
Question:96 Mr. Cullimore asked the Minister for Finance if he has satisfied himself with the amount of money recovered by the tax sheriffs.
Vol. 420 No. 4
96 Mr. Cullimore asked the Minister for Finance if he has satisfied himself with the amount of money recovered by the tax sheriffs.
49 Dr. Lee asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a number of Revenue Sheriffs have failed to comply with operational guidelines, by placing in interest earning deposit accounts sums of money which should have been remitted to the Collector General in the month following collection; if he will make a statement on the incidence of this practice; and if he will outline the steps he is taking to end this abuse.
41 Mr. Cosgrave asked the Minister for Finance if he will outline (1) the remuneration of Revenue Sheriffs and (2) the plans, if any, he has to change their system of payment.
31 Mr. Enright asked the Minister for Finance the amount of revenue collected by Revenue Sheriffs in the country as a whole in each year since the use of such sheriffs was applied nationally.
17 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Finance if, in respect of the 1991-1992 tax year, he will outline (1) the amount of revenue collected by Revenue Sheriffs which has been remitted to the Exchequer (2) the amount which has been placed in interest-earning deposit accounts by the sheriffs and (3) the value of the demands in the hands of sheriffs and awaiting collection.
16 Proinsias De Rossa asked the Minister for Finance if, arising from the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor General, he will outline (1) the reasons ten sheriffs, who withheld millions of pounds due to the State in 1990, were allowed to retain interest earned on these sums and (2) the changes, if any, he intends to make in the regulations regarding the holding of such money in order to ensure that any interest earned will accrue to the Exchequer; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
100 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of the amount of deposit interest earned in 1991 by the State's 16 revenue sheriffs in respect of moneys held on account for the Collector General; if he has satisfied himself with the practice whereby revenue sheriffs earn considerable sums of money at the expense of the State, by virtue of moneys collected being placed on deposit; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to deal with Questions Nos. 16, 17, 31, 41, 49, 96 and 100 together.
I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that £91 million in outstanding taxes was collected by sheriffs in 1991. The figures for previous years are: 1990, £74 million; 1989, £79 million; 1988, £100 million; 1987, £49 million; 1986, £30 million.
In addition an estimated £100 million was paid direct to the Revenue Commissioners in 1991 after initial action by the Sheriffs. The direct impact of their operations in 1991 will therefore be the collection of at least £190 million and the indirect effects, though unquantifiable, are likely to be substantially greater. The actual liability is settled in over 70% of the cases referred to the Sheriffs.
There are at present 84,000 warrants in the hands of the Sheriffs awaiting collection. The estimated face value of these is £263 million. However, in many instances the amounts are estimated because of non-response by the taxpayer and, in practice, the estimates will be displaced by actual liabilities of lesser amounts.