I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the levels of compliance for corporation tax have not in fact decreased. Compliance is interpreted as the percentage of company returns filed on time. They have increased steadily since the introduction of self-assessment for companies in October 1989, that is from 43 per cent in 1989 to 65 per cent in 1995.
It should be noted also in this connection that the yield from corporation tax has increased dramatically from £303 million in 1989 to an estimated £1,430 million in 1996.