Tax defaulters pay €29 million

The Revenue Commissioners yielded almost €120 million in tax, interest and penalties from its audit and investigation programmes in the final three months of 2009.

The Government publication Iris Oifigiúil has today published the names of 88 tax defaulters who made settlements totalling almost €29 million.

Among the published cases for the final quarter of the year, there were seven cases where the settlement made with the Revenue was for more than €1 million.

These included the Central Park bar and nightclub in Galway, the owners of which made a settlement of almost €3.6 million in relation to the underdeclaration of tax. The case related to the Revenue's investigations into assets held offshore.

Building contractors Gama Construction Ireland Limited of Santry, Co Dublin, made a settlement of €2 million for underdeclaration of tax in a revenue audit case. A related company, Gama-Tubin Construction, also made a settlement with the Revenue.

Gama Construction Ireland, a subsidiary of the Turkish-owned Gama group, came to prominence in 2005 when it was accused of exploiting migrant workers.

Company director Robert McChesney, from Clontibret, Co Monaghan, made a settlement of €3.6 million arising out of a Revenue investigation for underdeclaration of income tax and capital gains tax. This was the largest settlement by an individual on the list.

Racehorse trainer John Mulhern, a son-in-law of the late taoiseach Charlie Haughey, made a settlement for €1.4 million for underdeclaration of income tax and capital gains tax, following a Revenue investigation.

The final three settlements exceeding €1 million were by members of the Monaghan-based furniture-trading Sherry family. Patrick Sherry, Edward Sherry and James Sherry, who are all former directors of Sherry Brothers, made settlements totalling €4.75 million following a Revenue investigation into underdeclaration of income tax.

Half of the 88 settlements published today were for amounts exceeding €100,000, while 14 of these settlements exceeded €500,000.

Of the 88 settlements, nine relate to bogus non-resident account holders. These cases yielded almost €2 million in recovered tax and penalties.

Some 11 settlements totalling €9.6 million relate to Revenue investigations into offshore funds and 17settlements totalling €2.2 million relate to its investigation into the use of single premium insurance products to shelter undeclared income.