Revenue Commissioners Enforcement Activity

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 November 2017

Thursday, 16 November 2017

Ceisteanna (67)

Michael McGrath

Ceist:

67. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Finance the amount collected by the Revenue Commissioners under the compliance initiative announced in budget 2017; the interest and penalties that have been applied, in aggregate form; the number of disclosures that were made in respect of each offshore jurisdiction; the nature of the tax evasion captured by the initiative, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48644/17]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Finance

It was announced to the House in the Financial Statement for Budget 2017 that action would be taken to restrict, with effect from May 2017, the opportunity for tax defaulters with outstanding tax liabilities in respect of offshore matters to use the voluntary disclosure regime. In line with this undertaking, section 56 of the Finance Act 2016 provides that, as and from the specified deadline date, the making of a voluntary disclosure is no longer permitted where the tax liabilities in question relate to offshore matters. 

The period during which a voluntary disclosure could be made to Revenue in relation to offshore matters ended on 4 May 2017. I am advised by Revenue that some 2,734 disclosures, with a declared value of almost €84 million, were received by that date. This amount is comprised of €53 million in tax, interest of €25 million and €6 million in penalties.

I am advised also that 1,888 (that is, 69 percent) of the disclosures received by Revenue relate to offshore matters concerning four jurisdictions, namely the United Kingdom (1,196), the United States of America (377), France (183) and Spain (132). A full breakdown of the disclosures received, by reference to the jurisdiction to which the offshore matter disclosed related, is given in the following table.

BREAKDOWN BY JURISDICTION TO WHICH OFFSHORE MATTER RELATES

Country	No. of Disclosures	Country	No. of Disclosures	Country	No. of Disclosures
Australia	53	Gibraltar	1	Oman	1
Austria	7	United Kingdom	1,196	Panama	1
Bahamas	4	Greece	1	Poland	26
Barbados	1	Guernsey	5	Portugal	51
Belgium	25	Hungary	43	Romania	4
Belize	1	India	5	Saint Lucia	1
Bermuda	1	Iraq	1	Singapore	2
Brazil	1	Isle of Man	38	Slovakia	3
British Virgin Islands	5	Italy	10	Slovenia	1
Bulgaria	18	Jersey	27	South Africa	30
Cambodia	1	Jamaica	1	Spain	132
Canada	39	Kenya	2	Sri Lanka	1
Cape Verde	1	Lebanon	1	Sweden	5
Cayman Islands	1	Liechtenstein	3	Switzerland	47
China	4	Lithuania	3	Thailand	1
Croatia	1	Luxembourg	30	Trinidad & Tobago	1
Cyprus	9	Malaysia	1	Turkey	18
Czech Republic	4	Malta	2	United Arab Emirates	17
Denmark	1	Mauritius	1	USA	377
Estonia	1	Monaco	1	Unspecified	178
Finland	4	Netherlands	21
France	183	New Zealand	10
Germany	64	Norway	5	Total	2,734

The following table gives details, by category, of the types of previously undisclosed income sources and assets that gave rise to the disclosures made to Revenue.

BREAKDOWN BY SOURCE OF INCOME AND ASSETS

Source	Number	Percentage
Pension	428	16%
Bank Account	471	17%
Shares	555	20%
Property	795	29%
Offshore Fund	117	4%
Trust	24	1%
Earned Income	75	3%
Inheritance	24	1%
Multiple	113	4%
Unspecified	132	5%
Total	2,734

Anybody who had tax liabilities relating to offshore matters and who did not act by 4 May to address them now faces the prospect of substantially higher penalties, publication in Revenue’s quarterly list of tax defaulters and possible prosecution. Revenue will be making full and effective use of the large volume of data that it is receiving, under international arrangements for the automatic exchange of information, to identify and pursue anybody who attempts to evade his or her tax obligations by using offshore accounts, assets or structures.