Haughey proposed `huge range of powers' in 1992

The 1993 tax amnesty is still causing problems for the Revenue Commissioners, their chairman, Mr Dermot Quigley, has told the DIRT inquiry.

He also said that the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, had proposed a "huge range of powers" for the Revenue in 1992 in what was the "biggest Finance Bill in the history of the State". But it was made clear in the Budget speech that year that "access to information in the financial institutions was not to be allowed as part of that". Under questioning from the PAC, Mr Quigley said the "trauma of the amnesty" set back the Revenue's efforts for some time and was still complicating the administration of the tax system.

He told Mr Pat Rabbitte that the amnesty was administered by the Revenue but "by Chinese walls within Revenue". Some 40,000 people had availed of the amnesty, which brought in £260 million. So far, 9,000 cases from that amnesty "have come forward with a form of evidence".

He said there were some circumstances in which they could "inquire behind" those forms of evidence if they had sufficient bona-fide information to suggest a wrongful declaration over the amnesty.

He said the Department of Finance objected to access to information on single-premium products because "it would simply have the effect of driving the financial market from one area to the other".

Mr Haughey's initiative "that something would have to be done" was put forward in January 1992, but he resigned the following month, after which Mr Albert Reynolds became Taoiseach.

The impression had been given that the Revenue was a "rudderless organisation where there is lack of support for the leadership of the organisation and where the organisation is not pulling together". That would be a tremendous public scandal if it was the case, he said.

Mr Quigley said he had the support of the "vast bulk" of the people who worked in the Revenue. He was troubled by the impression for the "general body of taxpayers, whose confidence we need to maintain".

He said they had been persistently disappointed in not getting powers, such as access to the banks, for which they had pressed strongly. However, they had finally broken through the "ring of steel on the banking system", and the Minister for Finance had given approval for additional staff, including qualified accountants, who would be used to deal with the financial institutions.

Mr Pat Rabbitte put it to him that the inaction over DIRT had effectively created two classes of taxpayers. Mr Quigley said there was certainly "different treatment" between the financial institutions and other taxpayers.

Mr Rabbitte said many people were "crucified" with penal rates of taxation while at the same time tens of thousands of citizens using bogus accounts were shielding income from DIRT and that income was probably not taxed in the first place.