Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
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117. To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 137 of 24 January 2017, if he will reply in full to the question in view of the fact section 851A(8) of the Tax Consolidation Act 1997 states that a charity cannot avail of the confidentiality if it fails in its tax obligations. [7561/17]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (whether in subsection (8) or in any other subsection), does not contain the type of provision referred to by Deputy Barry. The right of a charity (or, indeed, of any taxpayer) to have its tax affairs treated as confidential does not depend on whether or not it fails in its tax obligations. The only reference to a charity is contained in subsection (8)(f) which outlines the circumstances in which a Revenue officer may disclose information, i.e. "such information as a Revenue Commissioner may authorise in writing and which is in the possession of a revenue officer in relation to the name of the charity, its objectives, its governing documents and its principal officers,".

In the circumstances, I have nothing further to add to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 137 of 24 January 2017 (Ref No. 2613/17).