Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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26. To ask the Minister for Finance the detail of the additional €100 million he plans to raise in compliance activity in 2018 as per budget 2018 documentation; the reason this revenue was not previously collected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44706/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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In 2016, the most recent year for which full information is available, Revenue collected €48 billion in net receipts, including €555 million from audit and compliance interventions. Revenue’s collection of receipts is essential to the Exchequer and the funding of public services for the State.

Budget 2018 includes an additional €100 million to be raised from three compliance measures, in relation to employer PAYE compliance (€50 million), eCommerce/online business compliance (€30 million) and tax avoidance and base erosion capacity (€20 million). To support delivery of these measures, Revenue has been allocated an additional €7m for extra staffing and ICT enhancements in the estimates for 2018. These extra resources will enable Revenue to target additional compliance activities in the areas specified and deliver the €100 million expected from increased audit and intervention yield as well as changes in taxpayer behaviour prompted by Revenue’s actions. This is also in line with the recent Review of Ireland's Corporation Tax Code which recommended that, to reduce uncertainty and ensure that Ireland protects its corporation tax base, Ireland should ensure an adequately resourced Competent Authority.

The additional funding allocation and expected yield estimates are based on analysis of historical data recording the compliance receipts generated by Revenue in recent years. They are also informed by work currently underway in these areas as part of Revenue’s national compliance imperatives, which indicate the yield that could be expected in 2018 from increasing resources in these areas.

Revenue’s Comprehensive Review of Expenditure 2014 noted that Revenue staffing levels had reduced by 13% since 2008 and that by increasing resources additional revenue yield could be achieved.  In recognition of this, the 2015, 2016 and 2017 Budgets provided for an increase of 266 (126, 50 and 90 respectively) in additional staffing resources for Revenue to deal with a wide variety of requirements across audit and compliance functions, debt management functions, LPT, international tax and Brexit.  I have again provided for additional staffing in Revenue in this year’s Budget.

Revenue received an additional funding allocation of €3 million in 2016 to increase staff resources and assist in the delivery of the compliance measures announced in the 2016 Budget. The compliance measures that were projected at the time of the Budget (October 2015) were expected to yield an additional €75 million to the Exchequer in 2016. Revenue has recently published an analysis that confirms the estimates of yield for the measures have been delivered and the target of €75 million exceeded. Conservative estimates show the measures in total yielded between €120 million and €150 million in the year.

Budget 2017 also specified a number of compliance measures: amendments in relation to Section 110 and fund changes (projected yield of €50 million), tackling offshore tax evasion (€30 million) and increased resources for Revenue to confront non-compliance (€50 million). It is too early to accurately assess the impact of, or collection under, these headings for 2017. This will not be possible until after the end of the year. However, the target will be exceeded as €79 million was collected from disclosures in relation to offshore assets. Revenue will undertake detailed analysis of the Budget 2017 measures when data are available.