Results 5,141-5,160 of 26,512 for speaker:John McGuinness

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: In terms of compliance, one of the main complaints we receive from retailers concerns tobacco smuggling. What is the take on that?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: That would have a value of €43.3 million. I see another figure of €1.95 million.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Judging from the complaints, that would not seem to be the case. We have heard that this trade is regularly conducted on the streets of Ireland, that illegal cigarettes are easily obtained and that suppliers are known in local communities. Retailers know about this trade because it affects their sales. We have been told that some of them have been offered supplies of cigarettes. This...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Can Ms Feehily put a figure on what the State - the Department or the Revenue Commissioners - spends on this whole issue?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: I would like to ask another question in the same vein. Drugs with a street value of €49.3 million were seized in 2012. This represented an increase on the 2011 figure, which was €24.1 million. Have the resources in that area been affected by cutbacks? Are the same resources available to Revenue in this area?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Do the drug units at airports and ports that use dogs to detect drugs consist of staff directly employed by Revenue?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Are the dog units used widely?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: It has not really been affected.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Okay. I would like to mention something that has been done on the administrative side in support of voluntary compliance. It has been suggested that the administrative burden on businesses has been reduced by 25%, saving them more than €85 million per annum. What kind of analysis was done to arrive at that figure? Many businesses would argue that they have not saved that much.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: I have not met many people involved in the SME sector who have asked me to thank the Revenue Commissioners for saving them money in that area because they have not noticed the savings in their business. It always amuses me when figures such as this are used. When one engages directly with the SME sector, it tells a different story, namely, that it is-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: I have two further questions on the small and medium-sized enterprise sector. I will take the case of a company or individual who encounters a difficulty with taxes and subsequently enters into an agreement with Revenue to pay the taxes. I refer to people who are generally compliant but hit a blip because of the state of the economy. If they take an up-front approach and ask Revenue if...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Is Ms Feehily aware of cases where this has happened?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: No, that is not what I am referring to.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: This practice has occurred. I will pass on the details.

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: It did not make such a request. The reason I raise the issue is that if it were Revenue's policy to write to a company's customer base, such a practice would further destabilise the company as customers would be a little uneasy about someone who, for one reason or another, did not appear to have paid tax, even if he or she had entered into a legitimate arrangement with the Revenue to pay his...

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Does the test entail contacting the customers of a business?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Some 16,000 businesses entered into an arrangement with the Revenue Commissioners to pay their taxes. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: What progress has been made on the property tax?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Will Ms Feehily indicate again, for the information of those who may be following proceedings, the procedure that applies where a person disagrees with the value indicated on the assessment and believes he or she should pay a lower property tax amount?

Public Accounts Committee: 2011 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 11: VAT on Intra-Community Trade (9 May 2013)

John McGuinness: Yes, that is how I understood it. The argument one hears is that one should pay the property tax rate indicated on the form and subsequently send in a valuation or lodge an appeal. One should pay what one believes to be the correct rate.