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Offshore Accounts.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2004

Tuesday, 17 February 2004

Questions (80)

Joan Burton

Question:

163 Ms Burton asked the Minister for Finance the progress made to date by the offshore assets group of the Revenue Commissioners in its investigations into the use, for the purposes of tax evasion, of offshore bank accounts and trusts by Irish residents; the total amount of such funds identified to date; the total amount of tax collected in respect of these accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4743/04]

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Written answers

I am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that their offshore assets group was established in the autumn of 2001 for the purpose of enquiring into the use, for the purposes of tax evasion, of offshore bank accounts and trusts and the purchase of properties abroad. Since then the group has been examining this matter generally and currently has three financial institutions under inquiry in regard to the offshore activities of their subsidiaries.

Arising from these inquires and other voluntary disclosures, the Revenue Commissioners have to date collected in excess of €170 million from persons holding funds offshore. It is not possible for the Commissioners to establish the amount held abroad by Irish residents related to tax evasion as the funds held by Irish residents in offshore jurisdictions by financial institutions, including subsidiaries of Irish financial institutions, are obtained from a wide variety of sources. For example, such funds may include moneys relating to accident settlements, retirement gratuities, foreign earnings during periods of non-residence and so on which may be legitimate from an Irish tax point of view.

The Commissioners will be inquiring into all offshore accounts and trusts held by Irish residents, including those held in offshore subsidiaries of Irish financial institutions. These inquiries, while seeking to establish the tax liabilities of Irish residents holding offshore accounts, will also deal with the institutions' compliance with general tax law and with their obligations under the Finance Acts 1992 and 1995 to report to Revenue where they facilitated the opening of an offshore account or the sale of a material interest in an offshore fund.

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