Latest news with #RevenueCommissioners
Irish Examiner
4 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Tax rebate agent and used car dealer among latest list of tax defaulters
A Longford-based tax rebate agent and a Limerick used car dealer are amongst those on the latest tax defaulters list published by the Revenue Commissioners. There were 19 settlements published by Revenue in its latest list, which included health and safety consultants, a medical practitioner and several landlords, with the overall value of these settlements totalling €6.2m. Online Tax Rebate Services Limited, with an address at Unit 1A, Heatherview Business Park on Athlone Road in Longford was the subject of a Revenue investigation case for the non-declaration of PAYE/PRSI/USC and VAT. The settlement, which has since been paid in full, was made up of €101,814 in tax, €10,032 in interest and €76,360 in penalties, totalling €188,206. Topping the list was a UK-based wholesaler of household goods. Birmingham-based Liftetime Brands Europe Limited with an address at the Hub, Nobel Way, was subject to a Level 2 Risk Review for the non-declaration of VAT. The settlement, totalling €1,115,755, comprised €777,606 in tax, €104,868 in interest and €233,281 in penalties, which has since been paid in full. The second-largest settlement was from a Dublin laboratory equipment supplier. I&L Biosystems Ireland Limited, with an address at Unit D6, North City Business Park, North Road in Finglas was the subject of a Level 2 Risk Review for the under-declaration of VAT. The settlement, which was made up of €539,264 in tax, €60,634 in interest and €161,779 in penalties, totalling €761,677, was paid in full. A used car dealer in Limerick was also among those to appear on the latest tax defaulters list. Gannon Auto Limited, with an address at Elm Court, Ballyneety in Limerick, was subject of a Revenue audit case for the under-declaration of VAT. The settlement was made up of €255,119 in tax, €144,003 in interest and €67,536 in penalties, coming to a total of €436,658. Some €334,393 of the settlement remained unpaid as of March 31, 2025. Cork-based medical staff provider Oluwa's Medical Limited also featured on the list. The company, with an address at 14 Elm Road, Fota Rock in Carrigtwohill, was subject of a Revenue audit case for the under-declaration of corporation tax and PAYE/PRSI/USC. The settlement was made up of €82,230 in tax, €46,539 in interest and €24,669 in penalties for a combined total of €153,438. Some €150,371 remained unpaid by the company as of March 31, 2025.
Irish Times
19 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Reform zoned land tax to help solve housing ‘puzzle', says PwC
Ireland's tax on idle land zoned for housing must be reformed to encourage the level of private investment required to help solve the Republic's housing crisis, PwC has said. In a pre- budget submission, the Big Four accountancy firm has called on the Government to address the issue of housing development costs through taxation policy. 'At a time when the Government is actively focused on setting significantly increased targets for new housing output, it is critical that the policy environment for institutional capital is reviewed, and enhanced, if we are to attract the level of funding which will be required to support these new targets,' PwC said in the submission, published on Tuesday. At the top of the firm's wishlist for Budget 2026 is reform of the residential zoned land tax. Introduced in 2022 to encourage landowners to sell idle or vacant sites upon which housing could be developed, the tax is levied at 3 per cent annually on the market value of the land. READ MORE PwC said that while the tax is aimed at bringing down the cost of land by encouraging it to be brought to market, there are 'several issues' with its implementation that should be addressed as a 'matter of urgency'. Currently, landowners can defer payment of the tax under certain conditions. However, the Revenue Commissioners can claw back these deferred obligations if the ownership of the land changes. The Coalition should remove these clawback conditions for developers who sell unfinished land to third parties but are being engaged to complete the development on the site, PwC said. This so-called forward funding model is an increasingly common feature of the market here because it gives developers a degree of certainty around the financing of large-scale housing projects. PwC also said the stamp duty residential rebate scheme, which is due to conclude at the end of 2025, should be extended. The firm has also called on the Coalition to temporarily reduce the 13.5 per cent VAT rate on construction, 'specifically targeted at new, affordable houses and apartments for first-time buyers'. PwC said the average cost of delivering a three-bed, semidetached house in the greater Dublin area is €408,000, €48,478 of which is related to VAT charged at the 13.5 per cent reduced rate on the supply of immovable goods. A temporary reduction would be 'an effective measure to enable viability and increase affordability of newly developed residential property', PwC said. Paraic Burke, tax leader at PwC Ireland, said that at a time when geopolitical risks are rising, the Republic must look to 'control the controllables' domestically. 'While there are constraints about what we can do at international levels, domestically, Ireland has full control to determine its destiny on key domestic issues such as housing, decarbonisation and energy security,' he said. Mr Burke said a whole-of-government approach is required to solve the Republic's 'housing puzzle'. Among other things, PwC has also called on the Coalition to reduce the 33 per cent capital gains tax rate, which it said is one of the highest in Europe. A new 20 per cent rate would help to promote the transfer of businesses to future generations of business leaders, it said.
Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Residents rage at notorious €100,000 drug ship stuck in Cork harbour
The people of a harbour village are sick to the teeth of looking at a big steel monster every day – the notorious drug ship the MV Matthew that is costing the State €100,000 a week to store and maintain. Passage West in Cork harbour has become home to the big bulk vessel for the past few months and there is no sign of it moving any time soon. Locals complain that they can't sleep at night, such is the 'weird sounds and noise' that come from the ship after dark and some even fear it is haunted. One man said: 'They have to keep the power on 24/7 to keep it afloat otherwise God knows what might happen. But it makes all sorts of funny noises especially at night and people say they can't sleep with the racket. 'Some even believe there is a ghost onboard but I wouldn't believe a word of that. Everyone around here has an opinion and are sick and tired of the sight of it. 'This ship is an eyesore in our harbour and trust me, we are fed up looking at it every day. The sooner it is gone the better.' But for the poor beleaguered Irish taxpayer there is nothing funny about keeping the MV Matthew seaworthy while it waits to be sold for shipping or scrap. The Revenue Commissioners is responsible for its current safekeeping and it is costing the State around €100,000 a week to keep it afloat since it was seized by our brave Army Rangers and naval service on September 26, 2023, in an international drugs sting. Our troops found over 2.2 tonnes of cocaine onboard the Panama registered vessel with a street value of €157 million, one of the biggest drug seizures in the history of the State. The Revenue has been given the all-clear by the courts to go ahead and sell it on the international market and is now under severe pressure from the people of Passage West to get it done as quickly as possible. Locals had hoped it would be gone by the end of summer but now the whole process could take several months and even run into next year. Seamus McGrath, Fianna Fail TD from Co Cork, who represents the area, has been inundated with complaints from people who want the ship removed. He has repeatedly called on the Revenue Commissioners to move much faster. He said: 'The whole process needs to be hurried up. It is taking far too long to dispose of the ship. 'I'm very concerned about the delays with the process and am being told by the Revenue that it will take several more months. 'In reality that could be the end of the year. I am calling on Revenue to review the disposal process and try to speed it up. 'The community has put up with a lot in terms of noise and it really needs to be sorted.' Sinn Fein councillor Eoghan Fahy said: 'Revenue need to at least advise us of what steps have been taken to sell it to date and what they intend to do in the coming weeks and months to dispose of the MV Matthew.' Revenue says it could not shut down the power on a ship of that size to stop the noise. Revenue Commissioners stated: 'An order of disposal was granted in respect of the MV Matthew on December 2, 2024.' The ship has been formally confiscated by the State and any monies received from the sale will be offset against the €6 million spent to keep it in ship-shape.
Irish Examiner
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
‘You will be hearing more about that' – Croke Park moves to address Revenue risk
ALMOST six months have passed since GAA county boards urged Croke Park to intervene. Increased Revenue scrutiny had led to widespread concern. Now, Croke Park is detailing how they have responded to that call to arms. The Mayo county board meeting in Westport attracted headlines for a variety of reasons, chiefly abusive emails sent to county board officers and a denial of any financial mismanagement. During the course of that meeting, association director general Tom Ryan made a presentation on the loan agreement taken on by Croke Park in 2015. Before he left the stage, he sought to address one other serious matter. 'I just thought while I have the opportunity here, I might chat to you briefly about ongoing engagement with the Revenue Commissioners,' he told the room of delegates. 'We have been working with the Revenue Commissioners over the last six months, maybe a little bit longer. We have undertaken what we call a self-review framework with four pilot counties over five or six specific areas that we just need to be able to reassure ourselves, reassure Revenue and examine how they are transacted from a revenue and taxation point of view. 'That process is just about reaching a conclusion, it is done in the last week or two. We will be presenting the findings of that to the Revenue Commissioners if it hasn't happened already. 'Armed with the learnings from that, both for ourselves and for Revenue, we will try to roll out that process over the course of the remainder of the year to all the other counties within the 26.' Last December, the GAA called an urgent meeting of all county chairpersons, secretaries and treasurers to discuss the Revenue's risk reviews of counties. Two counties, Mayo and Galway, did not sign off on their 2024 accounts due to outstanding engagements with Revenue. They, along with Wexford, are concerned with a risk review of 2018 and 2019. The concerns covered a variety of financial matters, including tax liabilities related to Cúl Camp programmes, payments to players and management, nutritional allowances, referee expenses, and team holidays. Ryan went on to stress this was a separate issue. 'Apart from that, there are long-standing reviews that were paused for Covid-reasons into 2018 and 2019 revenue matters in a small number of counties. One of them is Mayo. But that is outside the scope of these self-reviews. 'We are embarking on it in the same spirit (with) Revenue Commissioners. We are trying to be positive. We are trying to make sure we are on a regime that is practical and workable from the point of view of all counties concerned but that also takes cognisant of some of the challenges and some of the legal aspects that apply to operating what is essentially a voluntary-led not-for-profit organisation. 'You will be hearing more about that. Purely and simply, the reason I don't have facts to lay before you this evening is it's not concluded, we are mid-stream. I think it is going ok but it is not purely within our control.' Wexford, Galway and Mayo have made voluntary disclosures to Revenue. Others are preparing to adopt the new pilot scheme. This week Offaly GAA treasurer Frank Fitzpatrick told a county board meeting that he met with Croke Park recently to commence this process. They do expect to face a tax liability. 'They look to be placing most of their concentration on payments to management teams,' he is quoted as saying in the Offaly Express. 'Referees was highlighted before as being an issue but that whole thrust has calmed down very considerably. It is mainly management teams they are looking at.' It comes amidst a period of heightened scrutiny and internal reform. On Tuesday, the GAA released an extensive survey as part of a widespread review of its amateur status. President Jarlath Burns already established the Amateur Status Review Committee (ASRC) in March 2024 under the chair of former Derry player Professor David Hassan. Burns previously floated the possibility of contracts for inter-county managers, something that the association has acknowledged as an option over the past decade. The public were asked to make recommendations on how the amateur status can be protected and whether they support the introduction of an agreed allowance for senior inter-county managers. After a consultation process, the ASRC will report to Árd Chomhairle in early Autumn to seek approval for recommendations, which may come before Special Congress later this year. They were also asked: 'Do you think the creation of a governance and oversight unit to enforce the amateur status rule, monitor its enforcement, and impose sanctions where the rule is broken would be a positive thing for the GAA?' Other areas of interest are reducing the number of hours asked of inter-county players per week, the length of the off-season and foreign-based training camps.
Irish Examiner
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
RTÉ paid back €2.4m in covid subsidies it was not entitled to
RTÉ repaid €2.4m in covid wage subsidies to which it was not entitled, TDs and senators will be told on Wednesday. A number of RTÉ representatives, including director general Kevin Bakhurst, will come before the Oireachtas media committee, with chairman Alan Kelly saying he wants to discuss matters relating to policy, governance, expenditure, and administration at the broadcaster. In an opening statement sent to committee members and seen by the Irish Examiner, RTÉ will say that it last year reviewed its eligibility for the temporary wage subsidy scheme (TWSS) which during the covid-19 pandemic paid part of employee wages for qualifying companies. The review found that the broadcaster had availed of the scheme between March and August 2020 and, as a result, RTÉ repaid the TWSS subsidy for the periods July and August 2020. "This repayment, together with the PRSI that would have been due had the subsidy not been claimed, amounted to €2.4m." Terence O'Rourke, the chairman of the RTÉ board, will attend the media committee along with Kevin Bakhurst and eight senior RTÉ managers. File picture: Sam Boal/Collins In total, €2.7m has been paid to the Revenue Commissioners — the repayment plus interest and penalties. This resulted in a "net credit to the income statement of €2.6 million during 2024 as RTÉ had previously provided for full repayment of all amounts received for its participation in the scheme", the statement says. In addition, RTÉ says it "continues to engage fully with the Revenue Commissioners in relation to a Revenue audit" which commenced in 2024 and has made payments of €1.1m to date. Controversial IT project Mr Bakhurst and the chairman of the RTÉ board, Terence O'Rourke, and eight senior managers will appear before the committee. Among the matters to be discussed will be the €3.6m write-down on a partly-abandoned IT project, which Mr Bakhurst will say is "an outlier within the overall portfolio of our capital expenditure projects". "It is extremely regrettable when dealing with public funds to have to write down significant sums of money, and I want to underline the fact that we have taken this very seriously and have spent considerable time looking into the details of the project and the process," the statement says. IT project was 'an outlier' "Thanks to the efforts of many, an effective finance system was salvaged, implemented and continues to operate today. "An expert and independent review was commissioned at the end of the project to identify the key lessons to be learned, and it is important to say that in our review of large capital projects for the minister and the department, it was very clear that this project was an outlier within a much larger portfolio of projects." 'Ridiculous' marketing campaign RTÉ management is also set to be asked about a marketing campaign which uses extras and props, which Mr Kelly on Tuesday called "absolutely ridiculous". "Workers who are working in your environment, whether in front of camera, behind the camera, they all know the environment they're working in," Mr Kelly told RTÉ's Morning Ireland. "They all know what they have to deal with, day in, day out, and presenting something that isn't actually the real deal or close to it; where actors have been brought in, where props have been brought in for something is presented as if this is RTÉ ... I mean it's just not a good way of doing it," he said.
