Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 January 2016
98. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount of tax, interest and surcharges that were payable but written off in settlements with persons or companies in each of the years 2011 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1727/16]
View answerI am advised by the Revenue Commissioners that the primary function of Revenue is the timely collection of taxes and duties. Inevitably, circumstances will arise where despite the best efforts of Revenue and the intent of a business to meet its tax obligations in full, that business will fail sometimes owing significant debts to Revenue. In these circumstances, arrangements are made to pass the tax as irrecoverable. This is commonly referred to as writing-off the tax and is a feature of the approach to debt management in all modern tax administrations.
I am also advised that the write-off of taxes and duties is subject to significant internal controls including formal approval and sign-off procedures within the Revenue Commissioners and in the overall context of Revenue's collection and enforcement function, the extent of recourse to write-off is relatively infrequent.
The amount of debt written off in the years 2011 to 2015 is contained in the following table. (It should be noted that the 2015 figure is provisional.)
|
Year |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Amount €m |
321 |
287 |
263 |
228 |
170 |
I am further advised that Revenue assists in dealing with tax payment difficulties encountered by taxpayers by agreeing to phased payment arrangements in appropriate cases provided -
- the liabilities are fully quantified,
- there is early, positive and honest engagement by the taxpayer, and
- the fundamentals of the underlying business are sound.
