John Deasy (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Finance the circumstances in which interest payments are charged on outstanding taxes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22823/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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This is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners who are charged with responsibility for the timely collection and recovery of taxes and duties due to the Exchequer. Where businesses or individuals fail to meet their tax payment obligations on time, then they are liable to interest. The statutory rates of interest charged by the Revenue Commissioners in relation to late payment of tax and underpayment of tax were reduced in the Finance Act 2009. The current daily rates of 0.0219% for most taxes and 0.0274% for fiduciary taxes give respective annualised equivalents of 8% and 10% approximately. Interest on late payment of tax operates not just as a compensation for the Exchequer for the late payment of monies due to it but also supports timely voluntary compliance by levelling the playing field between those who meet their obligations on time and those who pay late. I am satisfied that Revenue's actions in the charging and collection of interest are reasonable having regard to the importance of timely payment of tax.