The Criminal Assets Bureau has secured judgment for £443,466 against a convicted Dublin man, John Traynor. Traynor, who is outside the jurisdiction at present, was assessed for that amount of tax and interest by the Revenue authorities, the High Court was told yesterday.
Traynor (49) was a close friend of the murdered Dublin criminal, Martin Cahill, known as "The General". He was also a principal contact for the late Veronica Guerin, the crime reporter shot dead on the Naas Road in June 1996.
In the High Court Chief Supt Fachtna Murphy, head of the CAB, said in an affidavit the bureau was obliged to ensure that the proceeds of criminal activity or suspected criminal activity were subject to tax.
In another affidavit, Traynor had claimed parts of the income-tax legislation were unconstitutional.
Mr Justice Shanley said he had looked closely at what Traynor had said in relation to his rights under the Constitution. He found what he had said to be "entirely wanting" and undeserving of a stay on the court's order.
But at the request of Mr John McCoy, for Traynor, a stay of seven days was granted to allow
Traynor's Dublin solicitors to try to contact him abroad and decide if they should appeal to the Supreme Court.
Mr McCoy told Mr Justice Shanley that the solicitors were having difficulty contacting their client for instructions.
Traynor, who gave an address in Amsterdam, said he first became aware last September that a tax assessment had been served on an address at Glenvara Park, Templeogue, Dublin. The assessment was dated April 27th, 1997. He did not reside at that address.
He had 30 days to appeal the assessment under Section 416 of the 1967 Income Tax Act but had not done so as he was totally unaware of the assessment.
When he learned of the demand, he instructed his solicitor, Mr James Orange, to seek an extension of time to appeal, but the CAB refused. If his right of appeal was barred by virtue of the Section 416 provision, then such a provision was unconsitutional.
Before the application for judgment, Mr Brendan Grogan SC, for Traynor, had asked for an adjournment to get further instructions from his client. Just that morning, they had managed to contact the accountant acting for Traynor before he had left the country, counsel said.
The accountant had indicated the nature of documents seized by the CAB from his office in 1996.
His solicitor had had great difficulty contacting Traynor and they were seeking an adjournment.
Mr Donal O'Donnell SC, for the CAB, opposed the adjournment application. He said the demand was served at Traynor's last known address in this country. The assessment covered two years and Traynor had not denied he had failed to make tax returns for both those years. The address in the Netherlands was that of a lawyer acting for him.
This was the third time the CAB's application for judgment against Traynor had been fixed for hearing by the court. There was no explanation as to why two years later they were seeking access to the seized documents. They might be relevant to Traynor's financial circumstances but not to the application before the court.
There was nothing to stop Traynor or any other taxpayer appealing a judgment. If Traynor was successful he might be entitled to a repayment of any amount which he had overpaid.
Mr Justice Shanley refused to adjourn the application for judgment. He had been informed that all the appeal procedures had not been invoked by Traynor, the judge said.