asked the Minister for Finance if taxpayers are receiving an increasing number of inaccurate and unintelligible notices from inspectors of taxes since the introduction of computers by the Revenue Commissioners; if he will indicate the precautions taken to ensure that notices printed by computers are correct and humanly intelligible before issue; and if taxpayers may be compelled to pay interest on tax wrongly assessed by computers.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tax Notices.
149.
I do not accept the suggestion that since the introduction of the computer in the Revenue service inaccurate and unintelligible notices are issued by inspectors of taxes to taxpayers. Every reasonable precaution is taken to make the notices as accurate and as informative as possible but, as with any operation involving hundreds of thousands of cases, mistakes may occasionally occur from time to time. The Revenue Commissioners and their inspectors of taxes take immediate steps to remedy any mistakes as soon as they are discovered.
Taxpayers are never required to pay interest on any amount of tax which may be incorrectly charged upon them.