asked the Minister for Finance the extra Exchequer revenue collected in 1983 as a result of the tax avoidance measures implemented during the past year; the total number of extra staff employed in implementing these measures; the cost of implementing these measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Tax Avoidance.
9.
I am assuming that the Deputy is referring to the measures which I introduced in the Finance Act, 1983, to deal with tax evasion and to impose increased penalties for a wide range of Revenue offences.
These measures were enacted in order to give the Revenue Commissioners additional powers to carry out their duties in countering tax evasion. The question of providing staff for specific implementation of these measures did not arise. The use of the new powers is an integral part of the pursuit of evasion and cannot be distinguished in the general process of the administration of taxes. It is not, therefore, possible to separate the cost of implementing these measures from the cost of the other operations in which the office is engaged.
The package of Finance Act measures included stricter provisions with regard to the admission of late appeals, terminating the hearing of Supreme Court and High Court proceedings in camera and improved arrangements for reporting details of deposit interest, nominee shareholdings and returns of property. There was also provision for the publication of names of defaulters. There were a number of other provisions and administrative arrangements have also been made for reporting to the Revenue Commissioners particulars of payments made by Government Departments and public authorities. I am at present considering requiring the production by firms of a tax clearance certificate as a condition of obtaining public contracts.
This was a wide-ranging series of measures which must necessarily contribute in a major way to the overall operations in the anti-evasion area. The nature of the activities against which these measures are directed is such that it would not be possible to isolate a particular amount in the overall increase in the tax revenue as being attributable to any or all of the measures.
In the debate on the Finance Bill, 1983, the Minister said extra staff would be employed to deal with the tax structures. Is he now saying no extra staff were employed? Can he tell the House even approximately what extra revenue was paid through the implementation of those measures?
I am not telling the House anything of the kind. We provided for an increase of 104 in the total staff of the Revenue Commissioners. As I explained, because of the nature of the measures it is not possible to put an exact or even an approximate figure on what the result of the operation of the measures would be. Because of their nature some of these measures would not begin to produce extra revenue until the end of the procedures in question.
Can the Minister tell the House directly that 104 extra people were employed by the Revenue Commissioners, or were these people deployed from other Government Departments? Can he tell the House exactly how many new tax inspectors were employed? How many new jobs were created? Were these people deployed from other Government Departments?
We made 104 extra people available to the Revenue Commissioners by redeployment from other Government Departments.
Were they employed as tax inspectors?
There is a matter to be considered there. As the Deputy may be aware, there are two broad categories of staff in the Revenue Commission. There are staff in departmental grades and there are staff in general service grades. The ones made available from the rest of the Civil Service were in the general service grades. It has been a concern of mine and of the Revenue Commissioners to deploy those staff in the most efficient manner possible in order to improve the collection procedures.
We are told from time to time that a certain number of millions of pounds is outstanding in tax payments. Is the Minister now telling us that, as a result of the measures he decided on in the budget, he cannot tell the House whether any extra tax was taken in, or give the House any idea of the amount of extra tax taken in?
I said and I now repeat, that it is not possible in the case of any one of these measures to put a specific figure on the additional amount of tax revenue brought in. In fact, we increased the total amount of tax revenue through the ordinary procedures of tax collection because the measures have a disincentive effect on evasion.