Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2004
90 Ms Lynch asked the Minister for Finance the number of breaches detected of the Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Act 1993 in respect of each year since 1994; the number of prosecutions initiated and convictions secured arising from such detections; if it is adopted in the manner intended by the Houses of the Oireachtas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29851/04]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that there are two ways in which a taxpayer may have been in breach of the amnesty, first, in making a false declaration or, second, in not making a declaration. I am informed that Revenue does not have figures for the number of detected breaches of the amnesty. Because of the confidentiality conditions built into the 1993 amnesty legislation, such breaches are difficult to identify and prove.
No individual has been successfully prosecuted to date for failure to comply with the obligatory provisions of the Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Act, 1993.
Individuals and companies have been successfully prosecuted in recent years as a result of Revenue investigations, and although these investigations have in some instances involved consideration of possible amnesty breaches, it was not possible in any of them to obtain the evidence necessary to meet the required standards of "beyond reasonable doubt" from an amnesty perspective. Revenue's criminal investigation programmes have been refocused recently with the establishment of an investigations and prosecutions division, one of whose functions is to increase the number of prosecutions for serious tax evasion. Where in the course of investigations amnesty offences are identified, they are considered for investigation with a view to taking a criminal prosecution. Many of the cases currently under investigation relate to tax offences committed in recent years and do not therefore involve consideration of amnesty issues. In view of this, I am satisfied that the Revenue Commissioners are making every effort to ensure the law is applied in the manner intended by the legislation as passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas.
