Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Dr. Roantree notes that it would be beneficial to have some review, evaluation and reporting of tax expenditures. Personally, I have an interest in tax gap analysis. There is much value in carrying out such analysis on different tax heads. In a nutshell, the tax gap measures the difference between what is collected, the effective rate and what would be collected if everything that was owed was paid, the nominal rate. Examples of such gaps arise from the likes of aggressive tax planning, tax arbitrage, tax fraud and tax evasion. The revenue loss can also be caused by negligent omissions in insolvencies. Tax gaps are handy for legislators who are not necessarily tax experts to look at with a view to identifying where these revenue losses occur. What is Dr. Roantree's view on incorporating such analysis into the budgetary cycle?