Revenue remains silent on Conor Cruise O'Brien's alleged tax debt

The Revenue Commissioners have refused to comment on a newspaper report that the writer and former Government minister, Dr Conor Cruise O'Brien, has been issued with a large demand for unpaid tax.

The Star claimed yesterday that Dr Cruise O'Brien had been billed for arrears in respect of his work as a newspaper columnist, after he admitted in a radio interview four years ago that he did not pay tax on his journalism.

Legislation introduced by the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles J. Haughey, exempts from tax published writing of artistic merit. Most books, including Dr Cruise O'Brien's, qualify for the exemption, but the law specifically excludes work of any kind written for newspapers.

Interviewed on RTE's Tonight With Vincent Browne in 1998, the former Labour minister said he had never paid tax on his journalism, believing it should be exempt in the same way as his books.

He added that, after initially accepting the argument about his newspaper work, the Revenue had shown "a strong inclination to tax it". The disagreement had "continued intermittently over a good many years" and might "one day be tested in the courts, and we'll see how it goes," he said.

Yesterday one Revenue source said be believed the interview would have prompted senior officials to look again at the case. The department refuses to comment on the tax affairs of individuals, however, and Dr Cruise O'Brien could not be contacted by telephone last night.

The Star said he had declined to comment on his situation other than to say the he was in "negotiations" with Revenue and there were "proceedings pending".

Since his retirement from politics in 1979, Dr Cruise O'Brien has concentrated on writing. He was editor-in-chief of the Observer from 1979 to 1981, and has written for The Irish Times. In recent years he has been a columnist for the Irish Independent and the Sunday Independent.