Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 June 2015
104. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Finance the revenue that would be raised for the Exchequer by increasing Revenue personnel by 125 qualified persons, to target tax evasion and black market activity, as per the Revenue Commissioners contribution to the initial comprehensive review of spending. [25278/15]
View answerI am advised by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners that Revenue's Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2014 estimated that by increasing audit staffing resources by c.100 staff an additional exchequer yield of €50m per annum could be achieved. It estimated that by increasing staff on compliance projects such as oils, tobacco and alcohol by 100 could raise €20m per annum. It also estimated that increasing staffing on investigations by 20 staff could achieve exchequer savings of €12m per annum. On that basis, an increase of 125 staff on audit, compliance and investigation work targeting tax evasion and black market activity could raise between €25m and €75m per annum. In addition, it should be noted that there is a significant deterrent and voluntary compliance effect on behaviour of an effective, risk based compliance programme. The investment in the training and development of a Revenue auditor or investigator can take up to three years, depending on previous relevant experience. Therefore the full additional yield would not be available immediately.
Revenue undertakes a range of risk management interventions to target and confront those who do not comply, including tax evasion and black market activity. The objective is that people are deterred from filing inaccurate returns and from engaging in shadow economy activity and smuggling. The range of interventions has increased in recent years. Interventions include appraisals, aspect queries, profile interviews, assurance checks, enforcement, investigation and prosecutions, as well as audits. The appropriate intervention depends on the relevant risk. The average rate of return on each type of intervention varies depending on the intervention. In some types of interventions to tackle evasion and the black economy, such as enforcement, the focus is on the detection of drugs and fiscal smuggling where the direct exchequer yield is not the immediate objective.
It must also be recognised that Revenue has to prioritise its resources and must, for example, provide service for compliance, by making it easier and less costly to voluntarily comply. The administration of taxes and duties requires a wide range of specialists and experts. In 2015 the Minister for Public Expenditure provided for an additional 126 Revenue staff in the Revised Estimates of Services. These additional staff will be mainly deployed on Local Property Tax support, International Tax and on compliance interventions. I fully support the provision of these additional staff. Revenue is actively engaged in recruiting to fill the additional posts, existing vacancies and to replace critical skills as new vacancies arise. Revenue expects to recruit around 400 staff in 2015. 148 staff were already recruited in the first five months of 2015. The recruitment is at all levels and across a diverse range of specialist skills areas such as tax and legal professionals, data analysts, economists and information technology experts.
