Tax fraud businessman faces 180 hours community work

A businessman faces 180 hours of community service after a court convicted him on four charges of tax fraud involving a total of €76,000, writes Barry O'Halloran.

Kinvara District Court ordered Basil Holian, of Tyone, Kilcolgan, Co Galway, to pay a total of €5,000 in fines, and to complete 180 hours of community service before January 10th after he pleaded guilty to the charges.

Holian will be the first person convicted of tax evasion in the State to do community service.

Judge Joseph Mangan had originally said that he would sentence Holian to three months.

However, Holian's legal team pointed out that the businessman had paid the €76,000 due in back taxes, penalties and interest which resulted from him making false Capital Gains Tax (CGT) returns from four property sales.

The judge then ordered him to do the community service, but warned that if the 180 hours were not completed by January 10th, he would be jailed.

Holian will have to report to a probation officer, who will in turn report to the court at a hearing on January 10th on whether or not Holian completed the community service.

Holian's conviction was a result of a Revenue Commissioners' investigation carried out by senior inspector of taxes Mr Derek Coleman.

Mr Coleman gave evidence at the hearing last Monday.

Holian was convicted under Section 1078 of the Taxes Consolidation Act.

The offences related to four property sales that he made between 1997 and 2001. In each case, he took two separate payments from the buyers and declared just one to the Revenue Commissioners.

In one case, relating to a site in Barna, he declared one payment of £55,000 (€70,300) but had actually received a further £36,000 or a total of £91,000.

In another he declared £24,000 but had actually received £79,000.

Since 1998, CGT has been charged at 20 per cent on the profits earned in any given year after allowances. Holian ended up with a bill of €76,000 for back taxes, and penalties and interest for non-payment.

Holian is a 46-year-old businessman from Galway, and has a number of interests.

He is a director and shareholder of technology company Retronix, which is headquartered in Dublin but has its registered office in Athenry, Co Galway.

He is also a director of Kenmare-based gift retailer Atlantic Gifts, and has been involved in a number of other companies.

Irish courts rarely jail people for tax evasion. In a recent ruling on a case involving former Dublin City Council official Mr George Redmond, the Court of Appeal said that, once people had paid back taxes, penalties and interest, they should be jailed only in very exceptional cases.

The Irish Times could not contact Holian yesterday.