Mr. Brian Duffy:

I refer the Deputy to case stated procedure. I agree with everything Ms O’Brien said. My fear is that making the tax appeal system open to the public would be a disincentive to taking a case. One has a constitutional right to access the courts, but if one is afraid to have one’s affairs dealt with in open court, that right is infringed.

In respect of the case stated, I do not think the Deputy will find the information he wants such as how many cases do not reach High Court level. From recollection, the Revenue Commissioners publish details of cases stated that are in being, dealt with or withdrawn. Unless one has a poll of tax practitioners around the country, I do not think one would find that information.

In terms of what comes before the courts in a case stated document, under the current system, the Appeal Commissioner is in charge of that document. The aggrieved party asks for a case to be stated and signed for the opinion of the High Court. The aggrieved party drafts the case stated and inserts into it a summary of the facts found and the determination of the Appeal Commissioner. There could be a summary of oral evidence given and the question is posed for the determination of the High Court. That is a written document which goes into the High Court office and is presented to the parties on the day and handed to the judge. Parts of the document may or may not be read in open court. Copies should probably not make their way into the public domain, but anyone present is perfectly entitled to listen to the discussion and so on and may or may not be able to follow it.

In terms of the deliberations it is not like the Circuit or District Courts where one would expect to see cross-examination of witnesses and so on. The High Court judge is presented with a question of law: has the Appeal Commissioner erred in a point of law in finding for or against the tax payer. A very limited amount of information gets into the public domain.