Written answers

Thursday, 7 December 2017

Department of Finance

Tax Appeals Commission

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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56. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of tax appeals before the Tax Appeals Commission; the value of tax these disputes amount to; the appeals by the number below €10,000, between €10,000 and €50,000, between €50,000 and €1 million, between €1 million and €5 million and the number above €5 million, respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52359/17]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Finance the age and value of tax appeals before the Tax Appeals Commission by those aged 0 to 1 year old, between 2 and 5 years old, between 6 and 10 years old and those more the 10 years old, respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52360/17]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of new appeals brought before the Tax Appeals Commission in each month since January 2016; the number of cases concluded in each month since January 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52361/17]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of appeals before the Tax Appeals Commission that have been concluded since January 2016 that have been settled; the value settled; the number that have been withdrawn; the value these amounted to; the number of cases that have been heard; the value these appeals amounted to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52362/17]

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Finance the average timeframe it takes for a tax appeal in the Tax Appeals Commission to take from the submission of the appeal to its conclusion; the average timeframe it takes between a hearing being heard and the determination been made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52363/17]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 56 to 60, inclusive, together.

Unfortunately it has not been possible to compile the information requested by the Deputy in the time available. I will write to the Deputy directly with the information as soon as possible.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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61. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of full-time tax commissioners working for the Tax Appeals Commission; the number of part-time commissioners; the number of all other staff both part-time and full-time working for the commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52364/17]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Since its establishment in March 2016, the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) has had two full time Commissioners. An additional temporary Commissioner was appointed in June 2017 for a period of at least two years to assist mainly in the disposing of the legacy cases which transferred to the TAC from the Revenue Commissioners.

The Commission currently compromises the following administrative staff in addition to the aforementioned Commissioners:

Principal Officer: 1

Assistant Principal: 2

Higher Executive Officer: 1.5

Executive Officer: 2

Clerical Officer: 3.

The TAC has a recruitment campaign underway in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service to engage tax-qualified staff to assist with tax appeals.

Photo of Michael McGrathMichael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Finance the annual interest charged on appeals outstanding that are with the Tax Appeals Commission; if interest is paid by the Revenue Commissioners for holding money that has been determined by the Tax Appeals Commission as being wrongfully collected; if so, the annual interest rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52365/17]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by Revenue that while a matter is subject to an appeal to the Tax Appeals Commission, the collection of the amount of tax that is in dispute is suspended until the appeal is determined by the Tax Appeals Commission. Where the Tax Appeals Commission find in favour of Revenue, and the tax is found to be due and payable, the original due date in respect of that tax continues to apply for interest purposes. Appellants can make protective payments to Revenue in advance of the determination to minimise their potential exposure to interest charges.

Interest payable on outstanding income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax in respect of a given period of late payment is set out in section 1080 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA 1997). The current interest rate on overdue tax in respect of income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, gift and inheritance tax is currently 0.0219% per day which equates to an annual rate of 7.92%. The current interest rate on overdue tax in respect of taxes such as VAT and PAYE is currently 0.0274% per day, which equates to an annual rate of 10%, as set out in section 114 of the Value Added Tax Consolidation Act 2010 (VATCA 2010) and section 991 of the TCA 1997.

Where the Tax Appeals Commission finds in favour of the appellant there may be an overpayment of tax to be repaid. Section 865A of TCA 1997 states that where a repayment of direct taxes arises to a taxpayer for a chargeable period due to a mistaken assumption by Revenue in applying tax legislation, interest is payable on the amount overpaid for each day after the end of the period in question or, if later, the date on which the tax was paid, until the date on which the repayment is made. Interest is payable at the rate of 0.011% per day, which equates to an annual rate of 4.015%. Section 105 of the VATCA 2010 provides for the same rate in respect of VAT refunds as a result of a mistaken assumption by Revenue. Interest is not payable in these circumstances where the overpaid tax is offset against outstanding tax and/or returns are outstanding or where the amount of interest is less than €10.

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