From SEAN DORGAN
Sir, - Some assertions and intemperate statements in your editorial (February 27th) cannot pass without comment.
The editorial asserts that 'about £40 million' in fees has been paid to accountants for facilitating 'about 40,000' Irish Registered Non-Resident companies (IRNRs). What evidence do you have for this claim? The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment which registers these companies and has the records states in its internal memo that 'we just don't know how many IRNRs exist.'
Worse still, the editorial goes on to assert that these 'about 40,000 companies' have moved '£20 billion through the Irish economy.' It is interesting to note that the flexible 'about' has now been dropped. So hopefully The Irish Times will have no problem showing us the evidence for this statement. Does this figure include the profits of many multinational companies operating in this country? Some of these multinationals have IRNR status but they pay substantial Irish Corporation tax (as well as PAYE, PRSI and VAT). Is The Irish Times editorial writer equating the activities of these companies, encouraged to come here by successive Governments and the IDA and providing tens of thousands of jobs, with the activities of fraudsters and money launderers? What are those companies to make of the editorial when they read The Irish Times on the Web?
This Institute has already called for an early solution to the current controversy. The Finance Act of 1995 gave the Revenue Commissioners power to obtain information regarding the ultimate control and principal place of business of IRNRs. The introduction of parallel provisions in the Companies Acts could be effective in ending abuse of IRNR status by some companies.
The search for an effective solution will not be helped by the kind of sweeping statements made in your editorial. This piece of writing did no credit to your paper's claim to be 'the paper of record'. - Yours, etc., Chief Executive, The Institute of Chartered, Accountants in Ireland, Pembroke Road, Dublin 4
It should require no great leap of Mr Dorgan's imagination to guess the sources (which will remain confidential) of the figures quoted. Ed. IT