Vol. 503 No. 3
64 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Finance the plans, if any, the Revenue Commissioners have to issue a statement of practice on the application of the additional powers granted to them under the terms of the Finance Act, 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10031/99]
I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that they intend to issue a statement of practice on the application of the additional powers granted to them under the provisions of the Finance Act, 1999. I understand from the commissioners that work on the new statement is at an advanced stage and that it will be issued shortly.
Will the Revenue Commissioners defer the application of the new powers until the statement of practice has been received by the tax practitioners? Will the statement be issued on disc as well as on paper? Will the statement of practice reflect the guarantees given by the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners when these sections were being debated, that they will be used very sparingly only in serious cases and will not be used at all in the pursuit of little people?
In anticipation of the questions posed by Deputy Noonan, these matters have been put to the Revenue Commissioners. I will bring the matter of the disc copy to their attention; I have not been informed that they intend to do that but I am sure they will.
Detailed instructions to Revenue staff on the implementation of the additional powers are being prepared simultaneously with the statement of practice. These instructions will be supported by further in-service training where appropriate. The Deputy will be aware that it will be possible to obtain the instructions to staff under the Freedom of Information Act, 1997.
The Deputy specifically requested that the additional powers granted to the Revenue Commissioners would not be employed against taxpayers before the new statement of practice has been issued. I am not in a position to give any definite undertakings on this but I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that it is their objective to issue the statement of practice in the near future, certainly before the new powers are used to any significant extent. I have no doubt that if powers have to be used urgently in particular cases, the Revenue Commissioners will act in accordance with the law and the assurance given which will be reflected in the statement of practice.
Deputy Noonan also requested that these powers would not be used to harass ordinary taxpayers and those with smaller liabilities. As I indicated in the select committee debate on the Finance Act, I granted additional powers to the Revenue Commissioners in the certain knowledge that they would be used responsibly. Pow ers will only be available to authorised officers of an appropriate senior ranking who will be subject to the control of senior management. In regard to the most sensitive power, namely that of access to bank accounts, the specific approval of one of the three Revenue Commissioners will be required. The Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners publicly indicated that the new powers would not be focused on smaller cases. The new powers will help to restore confidence in the tax collection system which has been dented by revelations made in the past two years.
During the Report Stage debate on the Finance Bill, I stated that when the Moriarty tribunal – which has a remit to consider the adequacy of revenue powers – has reported, I will consider the evaluation of all revenue powers in light of the new powers and any recommendations or comments Mr. Justice Moriarty may make.
The Minister did not respond precisely to my question. I thank him for reaffirming that the new powers will not be used to harass people with small accounts and for confirming the comments of the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners to that effect. Will these commitments by the Minister and the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners be reflected in the statement of practice? If they are not formally reflected there, will they at least be reflected in the written advice given to Revenue officials?
I understand the Deputy's point. I have not seen the proposed statement of practice but I will bring Deputy Noonan's comments to the attention of the Revenue Commissioners prior to its completion. It will be possible to publish the instructions to Revenue staff. It would be a good idea to incorporate the Deputy's comments in the statement of practice; I believe the Revenue Commissioners would include that safeguard in any event.
During the course of the debate on the Finance Bill, the Minister indicated that he felt taxpayers should be informed of the Revenue Commissioners intention to inspect their bank accounts. That would be necessary in any event as a result of the Haughey judgment in the Supreme Court. Will the necessity to inform individual taxpayers of the procedures to be followed be reflected in the statement of practice?
I made that comment during the course of the debate on the Finance Bill. The Deputy will recall that I tabled an amendment on Report Stage in regard to third parties to the effect that the Revenue Commissioners would be obliged to notify taxpayers even though the Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners had already stated that the Haughey judgment obliged the Revenue Commissioners to do precisely that. The amendment was the most significant change made on Report Stage.
Will the Minister ensure that copies of the statement of practice will be provided to Members of the House on publication and that copies of the Revenue Commissioners' written advice to officials will also be provided without necessitating the invocation of the Freedom of Information Act?
At the end of his previous reply to me, the Minister stated that it remained his intention, following the reports of the various tribunals, to reassess the adequacy and propriety or otherwise of the powers granted to the Revenue Commissioners and the manner of their implementation. Will he give us a commitment that this will be done objectively? Rather than having the review carried out by his officials or carrying it out himself, will the Minister consider having it carried out by someone such as a High Court judge?
I will certainly ensure that Members are provided with copies of the statement of practice and the written advice to Revenue officials.
On the review of the powers of the Revenue Commissioners, there may not have been adequate time to discuss this matter on Report Stage. The review, which will be a very major undertaking, will not be an in-house one. It will not be carried out solely by the Department, the Revenue Commissioners or any other part of the public service. I intend that the review will be carried out along the lines suggested by Deputy Noonan. I did not have an opportunity to clarify the matter during the debate on the Finance Bill but the review will be a wide-ranging one, headed by at least one outsider.
