Tax evaders should be hauled before the courts as ordinary lawbreakers, the Law Reform Commission (LRC) recommended today.
The Commission said there was no need for a special Revenue Court or Fiscal Prosecutor to try people for tax evasion.
In a report, the LRC called on the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, to update Government policy on the naming and shaming of tax dodgers and let the criminal courts pass judgment on them.
The Commission said although tax evasion in Ireland was a major problem the reorganisation of the Revenue Commissioners had already put more emphasis on prosecutions.
Mr Cowen said his Department and the Revenue Commissioners would carefully study the report before deciding on a course of action.
"We have to find a balance between discouraging non-compliance by making sure evasion doesn't pay and encouraging enterprise through streamlined and simplified requirements wherever possible," he said.
"The essential difficulty, as with many things in life, is in striking this balance. Quite clearly, a change is taking place in the way Irish society views tax evasion.
"It is not socially acceptable to admit to being a `tax dodger' and a certain degree of moral suasion is a powerful element in the ongoing struggle to ensure all of us share in shouldering part of the tax burden, which is historically as light as it has ever been."
Mr Cowen added he was grateful for the clear manner with which the LRC report offered its recommendations.
Tax evasion was brought into the public spotlight last week when former justice minister Ray Burke was jailed for six months over tax evasion.
Investigations into tax offences and illegal finance schemes have yielded almost €1.4 billion for the Government.
The inquiry into bogus non-resident accounts resulted in €787 million after various DIRT investigations. The more recent off-shore investigations have yielded €711 million to the Exchequer.
Today's LRC report, compiled following a request from the DIRT inquiry, outlined four recommendations.
- There is no need for a separate office of a Director of Fiscal Prosecutions.
- A separate Revenue Court to deal with tax evasion is not needed.
- Changes must be made to the appointments procedure and tenure of the Appeal Commissioners, the independent body for dealing with revenue appeals.
- The threshold for publication by the Revenue Commissioners of the names of persons guilty of tax offences should be index linked - initially lifted from €12,700 to €25,000.
The LRC said the four recommendations were made on the basis that the Revenue Commissioners would be more effective in ensuring tax compliance and prosecuting offenders.
PA