Tax inspectors vote four to one in favour of industrial action

Industrial action which would hit the repayment of VAT and the collection of taxes owed by firms subjected to audits will be considered by the executive of the Association of Inspectors of Taxes today.

The executive is meeting following the completion of the counting of ballot papers where association members voted by more than four to one in favour of industrial action.

The ballot was taken as part of a dispute over promotion mechanisms and the employment of new higher grade inspectors.

Such action by the inspectors could be authorised for as early as next week. If the dispute is not resolved the inspectors have authorised the withdrawal of co-operation from such high profile Revenue issues as the DIRT audit or the inquiry into the affairs of NIB customers who bought offshore bonds.

But the most likely forms of action to be taken initially are the non-certification of VAT repayments, which would mean businesses seeking such repayments would have to await the end of the action before receiving payment, and a refusal to collect taxes in cases where audits have been completed by inspectors and tax is due. At present inspectors tend to collect those taxes before signing off on the audit and any action would mean a "tax holiday" for companies which would last as long as the industrial action.

The association, which has about 600 members and is part of IMPACT, wants more higher grade inspectors employed as part of a new batch of employees sanctioned by Revenue. It is also unhappy with a new method of deciding on promotion being proposed for Revenue.

Talks aimed at settling the dispute continue but have not produced results, according to one source. During a meeting of the Dail Committee of Public Accounts last month the Revenue chairman, Mr Dermot Quigley, said the dispute with IMPACT was holding up the allocation of 352 new jobs.

He made his comments after the IMPACT general secretary, Mr Peter McLoone, had called for more investment in resources in the Revenue Commissioners. Mr McLoone said the dispute centred on a few posts and could be quickly resolved.

The chairman, Mr Jim Mitchell, urged the Revenue and IMPACT officials to "knock heads together" to clear the way for the new posts.

The association says the proposed additional staff are being concentrated at basic inspector level, continuing a policy of inadequately providing for auditing the corporate sector.

The Revenue, however, says it is not true that larger companies are less likely to be audited. There is an "explicit focus" on larger companies in all Revenue programmes, a spokesman has said, and they are screened more regularly for audit.

The Revenue has offered 277 additional posts in the Chief Inspector of Taxes area, and a minimum of 167 to 271 internal promotions. The proposal, however, only includes one new senior inspector and 26 new higher grade inspectors, and the association says new jobs will do nothing to change the existing level of auditing for the corporate sector. In recent months several highly experienced Revenue personnel have left to join the private sector. The association has said this is because of low morale within Revenue, though a Revenue spokesman has said this is to be expected given economic activity and the demand for qualified personnel.