Tax defaulters pay €28.63m in settlements

The longest list of tax defaulters with the largest total tax settlement to date was published yesterday in Iris Oifigiúil.

A spokesman for the Revenue said coming editions of the quarterly will contain similarly sized lists.

Of the 285 names listed yesterday, 230 were cases where persons or companies had failed to avail of the Revenue's bogus non-resident account voluntary disclosure scheme.

The total settlement involved was €28.63 million and the list is noticeable for the number of cases where interest and penalties are three- four times the tax that should have been paid.

The number of names listed and the amount paid exceeds the total for the four quarterly lists published during 2002.

Under the Revenue's bogus non-resident account voluntary disclosure scheme, interest and penalties were limited to 100 per cent for those who came forward.

The largest single settlement on the list published yesterday was for €2.648 million, by J M Carpets Ltd, Mayors Walk, Waterford. A director of the company, Mr John Murphy, of Bishopscourt, Grantstown, Waterford, made a settlement of €2.242 million.

There were a number of other settlements that were in excess of €500,000. The largest of these was by Mr Joseph Doherty, a fisherman from Meenbanad, Burtonport, Co Donegal, who made a settlement of €624,980. The tax unpaid was just €146,061 with the rest being interest and penalties. Mr Doherty could not be contacted last night.

A company director, Mr Gearóid MacGerailt, of Dublin Road, Drogheda, Co Louth, made a settlement of €623,405, the interest and penalty element of which was €461,713.

Mulligans Chemist Ltd, of Annaville House, Newtown, Waterford, made a settlement of €542,428, while Mr James Mulligan, a director of the company, of Weston, Newtown, Waterford, made a settlement of €365,536.

A company director, Mr Edward Ahearne, of Richmond, Raheen, Limerick, made a settlement of €540,000. A market gardener, Mr Seán Douglas, of Woodville, Ardee, Co Louth, made a settlement of €507,000.

A man associated with stud farming, the late Mr Dermot O'Brien, of Derrygrath, Cahir, Co Tipperary, paid €456,460, with €342,970 of this being interest and penalties.

Apart from farmers, other occupations that featured on the list were company directors and landlords.

A surgeon, Mr Conor Meehan, of Caherass, Croom, Co Limerick, and a medical practitioner, Mr Edmond Holloway, of North Circular Road, Limerick, are also on the list.

The geographical spread of those listed is concentrated in the west and south, with very few names with a Dublin address on the list. Whether this will prove to be indicative of the names that are to be published in future lists is not known.

During the period covered by the list, the first quarter of 2003, there were a further 350 cases where the names were not published because the cases did not meet the necessary criteria or where the settlements came as a result of voluntary disclosures. The total involved was €26.52 million.

Farmers are noticeable for their presence on the list published yesterday, making up 82 of the 285 names. Company directors, landlords and smaller businesses also feature.

Mr Murphy's settlement is not the largest ever made. The tax defaulters' list published in December 2002 included a settlement of €6.9 million that had been made by a building firm, Torose Construction Ltd, Berkerley Street, Dublin 7.

The accounts for 2002 for J M Carpets Ltd note that there is an excess of liabilities over assets of €1.8 million as a result of the understatement of liabilities in prior years. "The directors have agreed to advance the necessary monies to the company," the notes to the accounts state.

The company is owned by Wise Properties Ltd, Waterford, which is in turn owned by Mr Murphy and Ms Noeleen Murphy, Bishopscourt, Grantstown, Waterford.

The Revenue's inquiry into bogus non-resident accounts has to date yielded more than €600 million, with €220 million of this coming from the banks, €227 million from voluntary disclosures, and the difference, approximately €150 million, coming from persons who failed to avail of the voluntary disclosure scheme.