Vol. 539 No. 2
16 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Finance the number of criminal cases taken for tax offences; the number of cases in which convictions were imposed; the number of cases in which sentences of periods of imprisonment were imposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19041/01]
I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that since 1996, a total of 14 criminal cases, including five cases where the investigation was undertaken by the Garda, in respect of serious tax offences were concluded in the courts. Convictions were obtained in 13 cases. Terms of imprisonment were imposed by the courts in five of the cases. In three cases the prison term was suspended while in the other two prison terms are currently being served. In addition to these serious criminal offences, Revenue also has an ongoing programme of bringing prosecutions for failure to file income and corporation tax returns. A total of 3,707 convictions in respect of this type of prosecution have been obtained over the past five years. I propose to circulate details of the data requested by the Deputy on a year by year basis in the Official Report.
At present, there are three serious criminal cases before the courts and summonses are being issued in three further cases. A report has been prepared for the DPP in another case and a further 28 are under investigation with a view to preparing a file for submission to the DPP. Revenue also undertakes prosecutions for customs and excise offences. Since 1996, and to date in 2001, in the region of 1,550 convictions have been obtained for such offences.
Table 1
The number of serious criminal Revenue cases completed in the courts in the past five years, and in 2001 to date, is
|
No. of criminal tax offence cases concluded in the courts |
Results |
|
|
1996 |
1 |
1 case: fine |
|
1997 |
2 |
1 case: 6 months imprisonment (suspended)1 case: fine |
|
1998 |
5 |
1 case: 2 years imprisonment (suspended)4 cases: fines |
|
1999 |
2 |
1 case: fine1 case: acquitted |
|
2000 |
3 |
1 case: 2 years imprisonment (now in prison)1 case: 12 months imprisonment (suspended)1 case: fine |
|
2001 to date |
1 |
1 case: 12 months imprisonment (now in prison) |
Table 2
The figures for convictions in respect of prosecutions for failure to file income and corporation tax returns for the past five years are
|
Income Tax |
Corporation Tax |
|
|
1996 |
319 |
43 |
|
1997 |
229 |
82 |
|
1998 |
659 |
198 |
|
1999 |
1,139 |
84 |
|
2000 |
918 |
36 |
