Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 January 2014
143. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 111 of 13 May 2013 on the value shift tax scheme, if his stated estimate of non-compliant firms has risen; the number of appeals that are pending; the length of time these appeals typically last; the number of Revenue officials currently required to pursue these tax compliance matters; and the number of the 76 or more non-compliant firms that are Irish. [1316/14]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the number of identified companies that participated in the value shift scheme stands at 76. Assessments to tax have been entered in respect of the shareholders of the companies and the number of tax appeals is 112. In one of the cases the Appeal Commissioner decided in favour of the taxpayer and the decision was appealed by Revenue to the High Court. It is not possible to say how long this appeal process will take but typically the time from listing before the Appeal Commissioners to a hearing before the High Court would be a minimum of two years. The value shift scheme is being investigated by Revenue's Special Projects Branch which has 13 investigators. While approximately four of these investigators are involved in aspects of the value shift scheme they are also involved in other investigations. The companies concerned are all Irish resident.
