Committee of Public Accounts to examine 2021 accounts and reports with Revenue Commissioner; followed by meeting with Premier Lotteries Ireland regarding C&AG report

Both meetings in Committee Room 3 of Leinster House will be joined by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy.

The morning session, at 9.30am, with representatives of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners will examine:

Appropriation Account 2021: Vote 9 Office of the Revenue Commissioners;

Office of the Revenue Commissioners Annual Report 2021: Account of the Receipt of Revenue of the State collected by the Revenue Commissioners 2021;

C&AG Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2021:

Chapter 15: Collection of VAT on e-Commerce;

Chapter 16: Revenue’s suspension of periodic reviews of tax clearance certificates; and

Chapter 17: Overstatement of certain unallocated tax deposits.

PAC Cathaoirleach Deputy Brian Stanley said: “The Office of the Revenue Commissioners is responsible for the collection of taxes, duties and other levies and charges, and for their prompt transfer, either to the Central Fund of the Exchequer or to other fund accounts or public bodies.

“In 2021, Revenue collected a total of €67.7 billion in taxes and duties, the highest ever tax yield collected by the State. Significant increases in income tax of 18 per cent, corporation tax of 30 per cent and VAT of 24 per cent contributed to this record yield. Corporation tax represented 22 per cent of total Exchequer tax receipts in 2021 and was almost equivalent in value to VAT receipts at 23 per cent. The November Exchequer figures released last week show that 2022 will be another record year in terms of tax yield, with all three main tax heads significantly ahead of last year and Corporation tax now bringing in more than VAT.

“Other areas the Committee wishes to examine include debt warehousing following the Covid-19 pandemic, customs controls, Brexit-related revenue effects, and fraud and suspected fraud controls. Members are also interested in the matters examined by the C&AG relating to collection of VAT in e-commerce, Revenue’s suspension of periodic reviews of tax clearance certificates and overstatement of certain unallocated tax deposits.”

In the afternoon session, beginning at 1.30pm, the Committee will meet with representatives of Premier Lotteries Ireland to examine Chapter 19: Exchequer receipts from National Lottery ticket sales from the C&AG’s Report on the Accounts of the Public Services 2021.

Deputy Stanley said: “Our afternoon meeting with Premier Lotteries Ireland will follow up on matters raised in our engagement on 24 November with the Regulator of the National Lottery. This includes the spending of €122 million in money from unclaimed prizes between 2015 and 2021 for the promotion of the National Lottery and/or the Lottery games. This represented 98 per cent of the €124 million in unclaimed money, while the remaining €2million was used to top-up prizes.”

Both meetings in Committee Room 3 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

PAC is a standing committee of Dáil Éireann which focuses on ensuring public services are run efficiently and achieve value for money. Further information on the role and remit of the Committee can be found here.

Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.