Ex-director owing €750,000 tax given 21 days for answers

A FORMER company director who owes the Revenue almost € 750,000 was yesterday given 21 days by a judge to answer all relevant questions posed to him by the tax authorities.

Tadhg Feeney, Jerpoint West, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, had previously been given a two-year suspended sentence by Judge Olive Buttimer on condition that he comply with an agreement with the Revenue after he was found guilty of an under-declaration of income tax.

Kilkenny Circuit Court heard that the agreement included Mr Feeney paying the Revenue € 1,138,349 as well as disclosing information regarding his assets.

Following an initial payment which reduced the amount to € 750,000, the agreement stated that Mr Feeney was to make four further instalments to the Revenue, the last of which was due on March 31st last.

Revenue official Jack Flynn told the court that Mr Feeney had paid just € 12,390 of the € 750,000 and that he had made “no serious attempt to share information”.

Speaking in his defence, Mr Feeney said he was trying to raise the necessary funds and was even willing to put his own family home up for sale, but in the current economic climate, it was difficult to sell property.

He sad he was “dumbfounded” by the allegations made by Mr Flynn and had provided all the information he had been asked for.

Judge Buttimer adjourned the case.

She gave the Revenue 21 days to compile a list of questions it wants answered by Mr Feeney and Mr Feeney a subsequent 21 days to reply.

In a separate case, a former photographer was sentenced to 240 hours of community service for failure to pay VAT on € 1.4 million worth of sales between 1998 and 2004.

Niall Williamson, The Old Schoolhouse, Dunkit, Co Kilkenny, agreed to teach two courses that had been suggested by the probation and welfare services.

Mr Williamson had previously worked as a self-employed photographer in Waterford Crystal, where he took pictures of tourists.

The court also heard he had received a lump sum payment of approximately € 200,000 for his part in the sale of a piece of land in 2006.

However, Mr Williamson said that he “never saw that money” as it quickly went to service some of his debt and as such he was not in a position to pay what he owed to the Revenue.