Revenue monitors large-turnover firms

The Revenue Commissioners are monitoring 343 companies and partnerships with annual turnovers of more than €125 million, a conference in Dublin heard yesterday.

A breakdown of the 343 businesses by sectors has been given to The Irish Times. The breakdown shows that 37 are in the service, media and leisure category, a category that would include the State's top law and accountancy firms.

The tax affairs of these big businesses, along with 250 individuals whom the Revenue believe are worth more than €50 million each, are now being handled by the Large Cases Division.

The same division specialises in countering aggressive tax avoidance schemes.

An overview of the division was given by its head, assistant secretary Mr Seán Moriarty, at a conference in Dublin Castle yesterday that was attended by tax administration heads from EU member-states and the 10 acceding States.

The conference was opened by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, who said it was the first time the heads of tax administrations from all 25 states had come together under one roof.

Mr Moriarty said the division was set up because, in the large-case area, business knowledge on the part of the Revenue was perceived to be "the key to providing both support for compliance and the informed confrontation of poor compliance".

"It was also the key to understanding the particular risks to tax or customs revenues in particular business sectors and to understanding the mindset of the tax planner or avoidance scheme designer." The division monitors all companies in the financial services sector, regardless of size, because of its complexity.

It has set up two national anti-avoidance units, one targeting direct taxes and the other targeting indirect taxes.

"The national programme to support the identification and confrontation of tax avoidance was located in the Large Case Division because of the relatively high incidence of schemes of avoidance among the larger cases," Mr Moriarty said.

Profiling of its client or case base is being carried out by the division using case histories and direct meetings with the individuals and businesses.

The conference in Dublin also heard from tax officials from Sweden, Spain, Poland and Hungary.