Revenue nets €47.6m from list of defaulters

The latest list of tax defaulters includes 10 cases in which a settlement in excess of €1 million was made.

The list, published yesterday in Iris Oifigiúil, includes almost 200 cases arising from the Revenue's bogus non-resident accounts inquiry, which brought in a total of €29.98 million.

It also includes five settlements relating to the Revenue's investigation into offshore funds. These are understood to be the first settlements published arising out of that inquiry.

The settlements on the list are ones that involved more than €12,700, were made during the three months to March 31st, 2004, and where a voluntary disclosure was not made by the taxpayer. The total received from these settlements was €47.63 million.

The Revenue's voluntary disclosure schemes for bogus non-resident accounts and offshore assets involved confidential settlements so those published in yesterday's list did not involve those schemes.

The settlements of more than €1 million were: Ballymany Construction Ltd, Newbridge, Co Kildare (€1.1 million); Mr Francis J Cooke, a retired photographer of Fair Hill, Galway (€1 million); E J King Ltd, Co Galway (€2.98 million); Mr Thomas J Glynn, a company director of Ballinasloe, Co Galway (€1.1 million); Ms Maud Liddy, of Arklow House, Newpark Ave, Blackrock, Co Dublin (€1.3 million); Company directors and builders Mr Edward P Lynam, Navan Road, Dublin, and the late Mr James J Lynam, Sutton, Co Dublin (€2.8 million and €2.1 million respectively); Mr James McDaid, a garage proprietor, of Ballybofey Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal (€1.1 million); Mr Michael Russell, a meat wholesaler of Beach Court, Salthill, Galway (€3.6 million); and Mr Michael Treacy, a carpet and furniture retailer from Blackwell, Bennetsbridge, Co Kilkenny (€2.5 million).

Pubs and hotels associated with E J King Ltd include Busker Brownes and the Westwood House Hotel, Galway, and the Schoolhouse Hotel, Dublin.

There were five settlements relating to the Ansbacher inquiry. As well as the two Lynam settlements mentioned above, these involved Mr Joseph Malone, Rye, New York; Mr Denis McCarthy, Hazeldene, Anglesea Road, Dublin; and Mr Francis Lee, Rochestown Road, Cork.

Mr McCarthy is a former chief executive of Odearest. He made a settlement of €469,332.

Mr Lee was a company secretary with Westboro Investment Ltd, according to the Ansbacher inspectors' report. He made a settlement of €30,000.

Among the smaller settlements on the list is one by horse trainer Mr Michael Hourigan, of Lisaleen, Patrickswell, Co Limerick, who settled for €32,735. Mr Hourigan is the trainer of the well-known chaser Beef or Salmon.

The latest list included 5 settlements associated with the Revenue's offshore funds inquiry, for a total of €2.09 million. These included Mr Cooke's settlement for €1 million.

Two settlements associated with the Revenue's NIB inquiry brought in €290,000.

In all, there were 89 settlements where the amount involved exceeded €100,000. Many of those who made settlements paid interest and penalties that far exceeded the original amount of tax owed.

The published settlements reflect only a portion of all Revenue audits and investigations concluded during the period. The total yield during the period was €104.25 million. There were 517 cases in addition to those on the list which involved more than €12,700 but which did not fall to be published. Also a further 2,321 audits completed during the period resulted in settlements totalling €4.45 million.

Iris Oifigiúil also lists people and businesses, mostly pubs, who were fined during the period for such matters as smuggling cigarettes, alcohol smuggling, selling counterfeit liquor and operating without a licence to sell alcohol.