Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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85. 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 ranges (details supplied) respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5270/18]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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86. To ask the Minister for Finance the age and value of tax appeals before the Tax Appeals Commission by ranges (details supplied) respectively, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5271/18]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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87. 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. [5272/18]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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88. 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that have been concluded since January 2016 that have been settled; the value of the settled; the number that have been withdrawn; the value these amounted to; the number of cases that have been heard; the value these appeals amounted to; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5273/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 85 to 88, inclusive, together.

The TAC was established and new procedures for making, processing, adjudicating and determining appeals came into effect on 21^stMarch 2016. Before this date taxpayers sent their appeals directly to Revenue who then transferred cases to the Appeal Commissioners when they were ready for a hearing. Since that date, taxpayers send their appeals directly to the TAC which then notifies Revenue of the appeals.  The TAC has full control over the processing and hearing of appeals.

I am advised by the TAC that the number of appeals before it can change frequently, depending on a number of factors, including the number of additional appeals received each day; the numbers closed each day; how many appeals are part-settled and how many that will settle based on the outcome of a “leader-case”. The Commission can also be informed, by an appellant(s) or the Revenue Commissioners, that an appeal has settled or been withdrawn which might indicate a reduction in the number of appeals on hand; however, until this is confirmed by both parties, the TAC cannot deem the matter closed.

I am further advised by the TAC that it is not possible, for the most part, to provide the age of tax appeals before it, as many of them were transmitted to the Commission, in large tranches during 2016 by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. In relation to those ‘legacy’ appeals, some were submitted by the appellant in 2016, to Revenue, but many had been with Revenue for some time before that. Therefore, it is only possible to advise of when the TAC received appeals in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Following its establishment in 2016, I am informed that approximately 3,322 appeals transferred to the TAC, at various stages during 2016, from both the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and the Office of the Appeal Commissioners. The TAC has further advised me that, as of 30 January, it currently has approximately 3,648 appeals under its remit.

The TAC has informed me that this figure comprises of the following active appeals:

Appeals received 2016: 499

Appeals received 2017: 1,475

Appeals received 2018: 251

Legacy Appeals: 968

Pre Establishment: 305

Cases Stated: 150

The tables below have been provided by the TAC which reflect all new appeals received and those closed in 2016, other than legacy appeals and pre-establishment appeals relating to years prior to 2016. I have also been informed that a further 400 appeals which were received in 2016 have been closed since then, leaving a remaining total of 499 appeals.

As per table 2 below, the TAC received 1,743 new appeals in 2017. The table reflects all new Appeals received and those closed in 2017. Of these, I am advised that a further 16 have been closed in 2018, leaving a total of 1,475 appeals dating from 2017.

Table 1 -New Appeals Per Month 2016

Table 2 -New Appeals Per Month 2017

Table 3 -New Appeals Per Month 2018

I understand that the TAC has been working to establish a more comprehensive database of the material relevant to ongoing appeals with a view to being in a better position, in mid-2018, to report in a more useful manner. I look forward to the completion of the data compilation enhancements by the TAC which I expect will result in it being in a position to report in a timely and more comprehensive manner. The TAC will be submitting its annual report to me before 31^stMarch 2018 which I expect will contain comprehensive statistical information in relation to appeals, hearings, adjudications and determinations and which will be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. My Department will continue to liaise with the Commission in relation to its resource requirements.

While Revenue also maintains statistics on appeals, for various reasons these will not necessarily correspond with those provided by the TAC. For example, there may be time lags in the notification of new appeals by the TAC to Revenue and also time lags in the closure of appeals by the TAC following settlement of an appeal by agreement between Revenue and the appellant. As the TAC is now the competent body for the management of appeals, I consider that it is appropriate that it be the primary source for appeals statistics. However, there is one important piece of information that the TAC does not currently receive for those appeals made directly to it. This is the value figure for the amount of tax that is outstanding or in dispute. I have been advised by Revenue that it would have no difficulty in providing the TAC with this information. This information could then be associated with the open appeals being managed by the TAC.

I have obtained the following information from Revenue in relation to the amount of tax in dispute with both corresponding value bands and age band.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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89. To ask the Minister for Finance the average timeframe it takes for a tax appeal in the Tax Appeals Commission 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. [5274/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Following its establishment the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) received thousands of appeals from both the Revenue Commissioners and the Office of the Appeal Commissioners. Further to this the TAC became the first port of call for all new appeals, of which they received 899 in 2016. I am advised that due to the volume of appeals received and nature of the appeals, the information sought by the Deputy cannot be readily provided.

I understand that the TAC is increasingly conducting less formal hearings with a view to assisting all parties reach a settlement or agreement more expeditiously. These are also being used in order to facilitate the timely progression of appeals and where possible to agree the main points prior to the formal hearing.

With regard to the second part of the deputy's question, I am advised by the TAC, that since the appointment of the current Appeal Commissioners in late 2015, adjudication has commenced or been completed, either with or without a hearing,  in respect of 158 appeals. Determinations have issued in respect of 82 of those appeals. On average it took 213 days between the hearing and the determination. I am further advised that of the 76 remaining cases for which a determination is outstanding, they have been waiting on average 319 days so far to date. The Deputy may be interested to note that one of the outstanding determinations relates to an appeal case that will directly impact on approximately 350 individual appeals.

As the Deputy will appreciate these figures are averages and do not reflect the complexity of the appeals or the reasons for any possible delay. I am advised that hearings can be adjourned for a number of reasons to include the submission of further evidence, for further hearing at a later date, to await the outcome of Court proceedings etc., and of course for consideration by the Commissioner of the appeal prior to the determining of same.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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90. 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. [5275/18]

Paschal 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 2-year period in order to assist in disposing of the legacy appeals which transferred to the Commission from the Revenue Commissioners. Further to this, the Commission currently compromises of the following administrative staff: PO, 1; AP, 3; HEO, 1.5; EO, 3; and CO, 3.

The TAC has a recruitment campaign underway in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service to engage experienced, tax-qualified staff to assist with all appeals. This process is currently underway with applications having been received in early January 2018. It is expected to progress to the next stage in due course.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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91. 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. [5276/18]

Paschal 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.