Tax courts considered by committee

Proposals to establish specialised revenue courts with powers to hand out stiff sentences to tax evaders and those who did not file tax returns would be considered by the Public Accounts Committee, the committee chairman, Mr Jim Mitchell, said yesterday.

The committee would also consider creating a post of director of revenue offences who would have a remit to pursue tax evaders. These proposals emerged during a Public Accounts Committee meeting yesterday to consider the Revenue Commissioners 1998 annual report.

At the meeting, which was attended by Revenue Commissioners' committee chairman, Mr Dermot Quigley, members strongly criticised the Revenue's ability to investigate and prosecute tax evaders. Earlier, the committee heard that only six cases of serious tax evasion were prosecuted in 1998 and more than 3,000 cases for non-filing of tax returns were still pending in the courts by the end of 1998.

Labour TD Mr Michael Bell said it was time to set up a special court to deal with "these types of criminals" and he questioned the severity of penalties for tax evaders.

"Defrauders can stick £1 million [€1.27 million] in their pocket and walk out of court laughing," he said.

Mr Mitchell said he was "dumbfounded" that the Revenue Commissioners had prosecuted only six cases in 1998.

"There is a deep and continuing concern that people aren't being brought to account," he said.

Mr Quigley said some of the larger cases of tax evasion highlighted recently were matters to be dealt with at the tribunals.

He said the prosecutions were not the "be-all and end-all" for the Revenue, rather they must have a business like approach to recovering tax. It was an onerous task to secure the evidence for a conviction, he added.

He said the Revenue had made arrangements that would lead to more prosecutions in the future. Currently, 28 cases were being investigated, he added.

Mr Quigley said the office was under considerable pressure because of ongoing tribunal investigations and the growth of the economy which would push tax receipts over a net £20 billion this year.

Mr Mitchell also announced yesterday that the Public Accounts Committee would ask the Construction Industry Federation and the ICTU to appear before it following an investigation by the Revenue. This found that one-fifth of 63,000 sub-contractors in the building industry had the wrong tax designation.