Mr. Seamus Coffey:

Timing is an issue and I agree with the Deputy that we do not have a large amount of information. However, one of the issues is that the relevant information is not available. We receive the monthly Exchequer returns which means it is known within two days that money is being collected. The issue then is how this came about and how quickly Revenue can compile the data. Companies do not submit their final tax return until nine months after their year end. They pay their tax in advance and make an estimate of how much tax is due before their year end. They do not submit their final return to Revenue until nine months after year end. This means that companies which had their year end at the end of December last year will not submit their tax return until September. These returns then have to be processed and all the information must be put together, which can take another nine, 12 or 15 months. There is, therefore, a lag of two and a half years, extending from the end of the year when the Exchequer shows the money being received to the point at which Revenue is able to publish details on how it was collected.

Revenue published a letter last year that gave broad indications of where the money was coming from. The simple reason companies are paying more corporation tax is that they are making more profits. While we might not have great detail on it Revenue provided a break down by sector, in rough terms, of where the money came from and the type and size of companies that were paying the money. One can go through the tables and see the gross profits, deductions allowed and how much tax was taken. The starting point was much higher. One issue is timing. The information takes time to come in and be collated. While it would be great if it came out quicker, it is not possible.