Sir, - If past experience is anything to go by there must be a strong possibility that this tribunal will end up in another very expensive bottle of smoke.
However, irrespective of the eventual outcome, its deliberations to date have provided us with another glimpse into the murky world of big business. Once again all the usual suspects are in the line-up. We have off-shore companies with off-shore directors and off-shore accounts, bank drafts in favour of fictitious payees and a tangled web of financial transactions conducted through the labyrinth of international banking.
It is perfectly obvious, even to the most casual observer, that the aim of all this jiggery-pokery is to keep certain transactions away from the prying eyes of the Revenue Commissioners. Moreover, there is every reason to believe that what has been exposed in this and other similar enquiries is but the tip of a very large iceberg. It reinforces the widely held view that tax dodging is endemic in Irish business and infuriates PAYE taxpayers who are, in any event, deeply suspicious that others are not carrying their fair share of the tax burden.
If compliant taxpayers are to be convinced that there is equity in the system, it is imperative that resolute measures be taken forthwith. Perhaps a start could be made by re-introducing previous proposals which, if implemented, would have made it incumbent on professional advisers to inform the Revenue Commissioners of tax irregularities. I refer to Section 153 of the Finance Bill, 1995 which, subsequent to its publication, was watered down significantly in the face of a determined and vociferous campaign mounted by powerful vested interests. - Yours, etc.,
Silchester Park, Glenageary, Co Dublin.