Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I have made the point a number of times that Revenue can only allow tax credits and reliefs on the basis of the information known to it. There is no accurate method to estimate the amount of unclaimed taxes. The Revenue Commissioners have been making every effort to ensure that all taxpayers are fully aware of their entitlements. The self-employed must fill in an annual return form on which there are prompts to claim all available reliefs. In recent years, Revenue has taken several initiatives to inform PAYE taxpayers of their entitlements and to encourage them to claim.

The Revenue Commissioners are satisfied that their ongoing efforts to inform taxpayers of their entitlements are having the desired effect, as demonstrated in the substantial increase in the number of PAYE taxpayers seeking reviews of their tax liabilities in the context of claiming additional tax credits and reliefs. The number of PAYE reviews processed in 2006 was 1.14 million compared to 552,000 in 2005. The figure for 2007 reviews is comparable to the 2006 figure and will be published in the Revenue annual report due out in April.

Revenue's new statement of strategy, which I recently approved, sets out the directions and priorities for the next three years. One of its strategies for the achievement of this goal is to help customers pay the right amount and to get their entitlements. The inclusion of this additional goal underlines Revenue's commitment and determination to help its customers, both individuals and businesses, to receive their due entitlements and to pay only the right amount of tax.

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