Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I move amendment No. 20:

In page 39, line 6, after "to" to insert "the Circuit Court or".

This group of amendments, and certainly my own amendments, relate to the major outstanding issue in the Bill as I see it. I refer to the removal of the right to appeal a decision of the appeals commissioners to the Circuit Court. This issue was considered in some detail during the pre-legislative hearings held by this committee some months ago. While the Government moved on the issue of holding hearings in public, the Minister has not moved on the issue of removing the Circuit Court appeal. I would like to make a number of points in this context. The right of a taxpayer to appeal a finding of fact to the Circuit Court has been in place for almost half a century. It is associated with the fundamental right of taxpayers to redress. In my view, the removal of that right would be a huge step that would limit the access of taxpayers to justice. For many people, appealing on a point of law to the High Court is simply not a feasible option because of the costs associated with it. In addition, the legal grounds for any appeal to the High Court are very narrow and must relate to a point of law. The reality is that the vast majority of taxpayers will have no recourse beyond the appeals commissioners.

I acknowledge that the number of cases which go before the Circuit Court having gone through the appeal commissioner system is modest but the latter is an argument for retaining that option for taxpayers who feel they need it. There have been occasions where the Circuit Court has found in favour of the taxpayer. If the reason being proffered for the change is the level of delay in the Circuit Court system, it is not a good enough one for changing a fundamental pillar of the administration of our tax system. If the argument is that some people seek to delay the final adjudication in their cases - which may well be the situation in a small number of instances - the Circuit Court rules provide that the Revenue Commissioners can seek costs against those taxpayers. No one is arguing that the right of appeal to the Circuit Court should be retained simply to delay the final adjudication of cases. I am arguing for its retention because taxpayers, having gone through the normal appeals process with the appeal commissioners, deserve the right to have their cases heard before the Circuit Court. That should be retained. It should be retained on the basis that misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the facts of their cases, which can often be very complex, should be put before a Circuit Court if the appellant feels the issue is serious enough. I do not fully understand the logic behind this important change to our taxation regime, which is why I am putting forward the consequential amendments in respect of the substantive issue, namely, retention of the option to appeal to the Circuit Court.