Madam, - Your front-page headline of December 6th, "€1.6 billion paid in tax settlements shows wide extent of evasion", is an alarming contention and your readers might welcome the following additional information.
There are three possible explanations for underpayment of tax: innocent error, for which there is no penalty; unintentional negligence, for which civil penalties and possible publication are imposed; and intentional evasion, which is a crime and carries severe monetary penalties and the possibility of imprisonment.
The figure of €1.6 billion is the total of six years' audit settlements reached by the Revenue Commissioners with taxpayers. In most cases, these settlements are reached where a taxpayer has underpaid tax due to innocent error or unintentional negligence. In an ideal world, we would expect every taxpayer to pay the right amount of tax on time, every time. However, this has not proven possible in any tax administration. It may be some small consolation for your readers to note that the total additional tax collected through Revenue audits in this six-year period is less than 1 per cent of the sum paid voluntarily by taxpayers in the same period.
Tax evasion is theft and needs to be uncovered and punished. However, we should not start with the softer targets of those who have tried to get it right but failed. - Yours, etc.,
MARK REDMOND,
Chief Executive,
Irish Taxation Institute,
Dublin 4.