Written Answers. - Tax Amnesty Deadline.
Ivan Yates
Question:
136
Mr. Yates
asked the
Minister for Finance
the way in which the deadline for the tax amnesty was extended on a day factor basis for those whose cheques bounced before 14 January 1994: if he will pursue this matter that was raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report in view of the nature of the absolute terms of the legislation in this regard; and the way in which such an extension of the deadline was granted.
[1496/94]
The Deputy is referring to the comment by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his 1993 report in relation to the 15 per cent incentive amnesty that he had noted that there was a de facto extension to the payment deadline for those who presented cheques subsequently dishonoured and replacement cheques were being accepted up to the date of his report.
It should be noted that section 7 (3) (a) of the Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Act, 1993, placed the special collection functions under the control and direction of the chief special collector who had to cope with the large scale operation involved. The chief special collector had to undertake that task with limited staff resources, for confidentiality reasons, and without access to Revenue's ordinary collection processing systems.
It is understood that, of the £200 million paid to the chief special collector by the deadline, only cheques to the value of £1.5 million had to be returned to taxpayers for various reasons including cheques being dishonoured by the banks. Of those cheques returned, cheques valued at £0.9 million were made good in agreement with the chief special collector. No response was received in respect of cheques totalling £0.6 million and the persons involved were treated as non-amnesty cases.
It is important to appreciate the precise operations carried out in the office of the chief special collector. Because of the huge volume of declarations not all had been acknowledged and given a reference number by the payment date of 14 January, 1994. The chief special collector advised that payments should be made by 14 January, whether or not they bore a reference number. More than 37,500 payments had subsequently to be matched with earlier declarations and the cheques banked. Given the time needed to complete this operation there was inevitably a delay in lodging all of the cheques although, as the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General points out, 96.5 per cent were lodged within four weeks of the payment date. In these circumstances where cheques were dishonoured — for example because funds in accounts had in the interim been drawn down for other purposes — the chief special collector allowed the person concerned the opportunity to remedy the deficiency promptly.
I am assured that, in all the circumstances, taking into account, particularly, the very large number of transactions which had to be processed, this was a reasonable approach by the chief special collector in directing the special collection functions under the amnesty legislation.
