Lowry company owed almost €152,000 in PAYE to Revenue

Garuda Ltd, the refrigeration business owned by Independent TD for Tipperary North Michael Lowry owed PAYE of €151,938 to the Revenue Commissioners at the end of 2012, according to accounts.

The amount owed is a sharp rise from the €15,119 owed at the end of 2011. Mr Lowry would not comment on the figures when contacted yesterday.

The company also owed VAT (€34,535) and corporation tax (€18,385) at the end of 2012, having not owed anything under either category at the end of 2011.

Mr Lowry and Garuda made a €1.4 million settlement with the Revenue some years ago following a lengthy investigation.

Last July his home in Co Tipperary, as well as professional offices linked to his affairs, were raided by Revenue officials.

Secret recordings of telephone calls in 2004 between Mr Lowry and Northern Ireland businessman Kevin Phelan, published earlier this year by the Sunday Independent, disclosed the two men discussing a £248,624 payment to Mr Phelan in August 2002. The payment was not disclosed to the Moriarty Tribunal.

Mr Lowry has told this newspaper that the £246,624 came from a Finnish refrigeration company, Norpe OY, and was paid by it on his behalf. Garuda was the Irish agent for Norpe and was owed commission, he said. The transaction was dealt with properly through the Garuda books, he said.

The Garuda accounts for 2012 are unaudited and abbreviated accounts and do not give a profit figure. They show that accumulated profits rose to €1.072 million from €1.035 million at the end of 2011.

During the year, an interest-free loan of €22,395 was made by the company to Mr Lowry. The previous year Garuda’s accounts were audited by Mr Lowry’s long-time accountants, BBT, of Foxrock, Co Dublin.

The directors of Garuda are Mr Lowry and his son Jonathan. During the year the company incurred management fees of €40,650 from Abbeygreen Consulting, another of Mr Lowry’s company.