Vol. 412 No. 5
8 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Finance if the extreme pressure put by the Revenue Commissioners on taxpayers to make tax returns in advance of the payment date was as a result of instructions issued by him in an attempt to improve the Exchequer returns; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
No instructions were issued by me or by my Department to the Revenue Commissioners to apply pressure on taxpayers to make tax returns in advance of the payment date.
Under the self-assessment system the self-employed were due to pay their preliminary tax by 1 November 1991. Approximately 208,000 notices of preliminary tax for income tax for 1991/92 were issued by the Revenue Commissioners to the self-employed in early September 1991. As part of a campaign to improve compliance a postcard was issued around mid-October to the self-employed. This postcard reminded them of their obligations under the self-assessment system. As in other years an extensive advertising campaign was mounted tp promote the timely payment of preliminary tax.
Due to an error, demand notices issued prematurely on 16 October 1991, to some 2,500 taxpayers. In the normal course these demand notices would only issue after the due date for preliminary tax where a taxpayer failed to pay his or her preliminary tax or submit a declaration of nil liability.
When this error came to light the Collector General went on radio. He explained what had happened, apologised to the recipients of the premature demand notices and undertook to write a letter of apology to each taxpayer concerned.
