TD only one on list who had to pay own tax

Michael Lowry is the only person on the PriceWaterhouse list drawn up by Dunnes Stores in the mid-1990s who has had to pay his own tax bill, the Moriarty tribunal heard.

The PriceWaterhouse document listed irregular payments made by Dunnes Stores and was drafted after Ben Dunne was removed from his position as chairman and executive director of the group in 1993.

Senior counsel Donal O'Donnell, for Mr Lowry, raised the issue when asking questions of Aidan Nolan, principal officer with the Revenue Commissioners.

He said there had been a "global settlement" by Dunnes for everyone on the PriceWaterhouse list, other than Mr Lowry.

However, senior counsel for the Revenue, James Connolly, and the tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Moriarty, said they had concerns about the tax affairs of Dunnes Stores being raised.

Earlier, Mr Nolan said that given the information available to the Revenue, it was obliged to treat the payments from Dunnes Stores as payments to Mr Lowry's firm Garuda, rather than to Mr Lowry.

Mr Lowry had told Revenue that the payments were to him.

However, Mr Nolan said the Revenue believed Garuda was the entity trading with Dunnes.

The main tax to arise from the payments was PAYE and PRSI arising from the money going to Mr Lowry.

As Garuda technically paid Mr Lowry, it was responsible for the taxes due. If the Revenue had decided the payments from Dunnes were to Mr Lowry, the responsibility for the tax due might have been that of Dunnes Stores.

This is standard in PAYE cases, Mr Nolan said.

He agreed with Mr O'Donnell that the amount of money recovered from Garuda was "good" and "good in comparative terms".

He agreed there had been cases where companies fell into liquidation and "the Revenue let go whistle for itself".

He agreed with Mr Connolly that the stance taken by Revenue, under tax law, did not mean the McCracken report was wrong in finding the Dunnes payments were payments to Mr Lowry.

The bulk of the funds for Garuda's €1.26 million payment to the Revenue came from Mr Lowry personally.

If the money had not been paid and the Revenue had sought to liquidate Garuda, it was unlikely Revenue would have received much.

Mr Justice Moriarty said that "in favour of Mr Lowry", it could be said that he did not seek to "saddle you with a hollow target". Mr Nolan agreed.