Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

80. To ask the Minister for Finance the number and value of tax appeals in each tax district and division. [43149/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

81. To ask the Minister for Finance the detail of the €1.534 million currently under appeal between tax paid and which would fall due to be repaid if the Revenue Commissioners lost the appeals and tax not yet paid; and the estimated interest payable on refunds arising if the Revenue Commissioners lost those appeals. [43150/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

82. To ask the Minister for Finance the amount currently held under appeal by tax head. [43151/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

83. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide an analysis of open tax appeals by tax head, the tax years involved and the date the appeal was made. [43152/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

84. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of appeals settled by the Revenue Commissioners in each of the years 2014 to 2016 and to date in 2017 by negotiation. [43153/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

86. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of appeals received by the Revenue Commissioners to date in 2017, by tax head, district and division. [43155/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 80 to 84, inclusive, and 86 together.

I am advised by Revenue that it is important to make some general comments in relation to the information collated by it on tax appeals and the sources and limitations of this information. Revenue obtains the information relating to the amount of tax that is ‘held under appeal’ from its IT systems. Outstanding tax liabilities are automatically identified by the presence of an appeal stop marker that is input to suspend the collection of the disputed tax pending the determination of the appeal. This information is contained in Revenue’s ‘stop 16’ database. However, not all appeals involve an outstanding tax liability requiring the input of an appeal stop marker. A second ‘non-stop 16’ database contains such appeals. The information on this second database must be entered manually by Revenue caseworkers. In addition to the outstanding tax balance obtained from Revenue’s IT systems, caseworkers are also required to enter on both databases what they consider to be the amount in dispute in a particular appeal. This may differ from the outstanding tax liability where an appellant has made a ‘protective’ payment in case he or she loses the appeal. This disputed amount figure may not be an outstanding tax liability as such but could be the amount that Revenue may potentially have to repay or forgo should it lose the appeal.

The information contained in the databases is captured at a particular point in time and is not retrospective or cumulative. It is constantly changing as appeals are finalised either by determination by the Tax Appeals Commission or the Courts or by agreement with Revenue, and as new appeals are received.

An appeal against an appealable matter may relate to a number of tax periods in respect of the same issue.  Each of these is counted as an individual appeal in the tables below.

In relation to the number and value of tax appeals in each tax district and division, Revenue has provided this information at a divisional level and not the much more detailed tax district level as it was not possible to do so in the limited time available.  The following table shows the number of appeals with an outstanding tax liability (‘stop 16’ database) and the amount of that tax liability allocated to the relevant Revenue divisions. 

The following table shows the number of appeals with an outstanding tax liability (‘stop 16’ database) and the amount of that tax liability broken down by taxhead.

The amount estimated to be in dispute in relation to these 4,040 appeals is €1,179,006,96.

In relation to those appeals not involving an outstanding tax liability (‘non-stop 16’ database), there are an additional 520 appeals accounting for a disputed amount of €494,134,885.

The following table contains information relating to all open appeals by taxhead, the year in which an appeal was made and giving the range of tax years for all appeals in that category. It is not possible to show all of the individual dates of appeal in the table. Instead, the year in which the appeals were made is shown.

Since 21 March 2016, taxpayers must appeal directly to the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) and not to Revenue. The TAC is then required to notify Revenue of all new appeals that it has received. I am advised by Revenue that the number of new appeals notified by the TAC to date in 2017 is 1,536.

The following table contains a summary of the appeal notifications received by Revenue in 2017 by taxhead and Revenue division.

In a recent PQ (no. 39468/17), Revenue provided information in relation to the amount of tax in dispute by band and the number of cases in each band. The figure provided (i.e. €1,534 million) was the amount considered by Revenue caseworkers to be the amount in dispute rather than the amount of outstanding tax liabilities held under appeal. It included information taken from both of the Revenue databases (‘stop 16’ and ‘non-stop 16’). The Deputy has requested further information in relation to this disputed amount figure of €1,534 million. Revenue has advised that, given the ‘point in time’ nature of the information contained in its appeals databases and other limitations, it is not possible to provide a breakdown between the tax that may fall to be repaid should Revenue lose an appeal and the tax not yet paid.

Revenue has also advised  that it is not possible to estimate the amount of interest that might ultimately be payable by it in relation to potential repayments of tax without identifying the dates on which potentially repayable payments were made and without knowing the date of any future repayment or the circumstances of the repayment. 

In relation to the number of appeals that were settled by negotiation between Revenue and appellants, I am advised by Revenue that it is not in a position to provide this information as it is not information that is routinely captured.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

85. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of appeals heard by the Tax Appeals Commission in each month to date in 2017. [43154/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In response to the Deputy’s request for information on the number of appeals heard by the Tax Appeals Commission (“the TAC”) in each month to date, in 2017, I am advised by the TAC that the position is as follows:

A further 2 hearings are scheduled for later in October.

In one of the 58 cases, the determination will have a bearing in respect of 179 appellants.

In addition to the above, as of 9 October, 2017, a further 445 cases that had been appealed to and processed by the TAC, during 2016 and 2017, were closed during 2017. This included 112 “legacy cases”, which involved appeals transferred to the TAC, from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, following the TAC’s establishment in March 2016. In each of these 445 cases, work would have been carried out by the TAC towards disposal of the matter in some manner, whether by hearing, or facilitation of negotiation and settlement between the appellants and the Revenue Commissioners.

I am also advised that as of today’s date, in approximately 69 cases on which the TAC has conducted preliminary or advanced work that has facilitated information-sharing between the parties, the matter will now be withdrawn by the appellant, or is the subject of settlement negotiations as between the appellant and the Revenue Commissioners. There are further hearings scheduled throughout the remainder of 2017, including one case which will have a bearing in respect of approximately 350 appellants.