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Irish Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
How do I approach Revenue about modest tax debt stretching back many years?
I am writing to you on behalf of an elderly neighbour who confided to me that he is worried about unpaid taxes over a period of two decades. This man returned to Ireland approximately 20 years ago and initially paid tax as a PAYE worker. He later worked ad hoc as a consultant, engaging a local accountancy firm to do his tax returns. It subsequently transpired that the money he paid to the accountant to pay Revenue had not been paid. He has no pension pot or assets and has basically fallen on hard times after complying, he says, with all tax requirements throughout his working life. I gather that instead of contacting Revenue to find a solution, he buried his head in the sand and somehow fell through the tax net. READ MORE His only other employment was a number of casual cash-in-hand jobs until he reached pension age, which he did well over a decade ago. He has paid no tax on his Irish pension or on his UK pension. He wants to rectify the situation, but is not in a position to pay back the unpaid tax and any additional fines. He has no assets aside from modest savings, which he wants to be used for his funeral. Someone told him that his family in England will have to pay the taxes. He is deeply worried that he will face public shame, prosecution and imprisonment. [ Long delays in UK pension buyback programme leave people worrying they could miss out Opens in new window ] Any suggestions on how he can approach Revenue and how they might handle the situation would be much appreciated. Ms P.S. Your neighbour has found himself in a very unfortunate position which, inadvertently or not, he has actually made worse. However, it is important that he realise there will be no shaming, no imprisonment and, as long as he approaches them – rather than waiting to see if they will catch him – no prosecution. And no one is going to be chasing his family in the UK. If he dies with all this balance outstanding, Revenue could demand payment from his estate. If there were not enough to meet the full bill, that would be Revenue's loss at that stage, not an issue for his family – although there clearly might be no inheritance. You can certainly see how it happens. A compliant taxpayer finds himself in Revenue debt through absolutely no fault of his own but, given limited means, chooses to hunker down rather than engage. Almost always, the intention is to 'get around to doing something about it', but weeks become months, months become years, and making that call just seems to get more difficult. Passage of time makes the taxpayer feel almost complicit in the crime and the non-payment. From what you say, the initial 'problem' concerned a period of a little over a year and, given what you say about the issue being the failure of his accountant to pass on funds handed over to meet tax liabilities, rather than any active omission, he would have been assured of a very sympathetic hearing. Yes, the legal onus for meeting tax liabilities is his, not his accountant's, but in the circumstances outlined, an accommodating payment plan would have been easy to arrange. His failure to do so then, or at any time since, has created the potential to exacerbate the issue. Firstly, Revenue will want to know what he did after that time. From the timeline you provide, there would not have been much time between his accountant's fraud against him and his reaching retirement age, but even so, they'll be curious. Then there is the pension income. You don't indicate how much this is, but he apparently has pensions from both Ireland and Britain, so may well be over the tax exemption limit of €18,000 – even if he is not on a full pension from either state. [ Why are some people paying income tax at almost 70%? Their pension pot is too big Opens in new window ] It's important not to exaggerate the issue. At all times, he appears to have been living fairly modestly with little spare cash or savings – so much so that he never felt able to even agree a repayment plan with Revenue. In terms of shame and fear, I have no doubt he is feeling far worse now than he ever would if this had been resolved. As his tax debt is very unlikely to be beyond €50,000, he needs to know that he will not appear in any tax defaulters' list, never mind face imprisonment. If only for the sake of his own mental health, he really does need to sort all this out. The good news for him is that there is help out there. My strong advice is that he go initially to the Money Advice and Budgeting Service (Mabs). This State-funded network specialises in dealing with people who are struggling with debt. It is free of charge and totally confidential. Mabs are contactable by phone and also have a network of offices across the State, providing face-to-face meetings which, I would suggest, would make more sense for this gentleman. You can find his local office here , together with their phone numbers, to arrange an appointment. Otherwise, he can call their national helpline on 0818 07 2000 or email helpline@ . That helpline is open from 9am to 8pm. He should first gather any relevant documents he has and a list of the relevant dates. If some paperwork is missing or the dates are fuzzy, no worries – don't let that put him off meeting Mabs. The service can help him with contacting the Revenue. Once that is done, there are various approaches available under personal insolvency legislation. These include a debt relief notice, a voluntary arrangement, a debt settlement arrangement, or a personal insolvency arrangement. If your neighbour's means are as limited as he tells you, he may in fact not end up paying anything but, even if his means do allow repayment of some of the debt over time, the arrangements under the personal insolvency legislation are designed to ensure he has sufficient money for his personal needs. These arrangements were not in place when your neighbour's woes began, but they offer him a structured and dignified way to put all this behind him and not live with the stress that currently has him living in fear. Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street, Dublin 2, or by email to , with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
Independent Singapore
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Independent Singapore
Better support system needed for Serangoon seniors for accessing public services, says WP MP Kenneth Tiong
SINGAPORE: Newly minted Member of Parliament (MP) from the Workers' Party (WP), Kenneth Tiong (Aljunied Group Representation Constituency [GRC]), shone a light on the difficulties some seniors in Serangoon, the ward he represents, have with the digital delivery of public services, and added that a better support system is needed for them. In a Facebook post on Monday (Jun 16), Mr Tiong wrote that he had been at Serangoon North last weekend for food distribution and a walk around the area's coffee shops. He shared that some of the feedback he had heard from the people he talked to involved the frustrations of the older residents of Serangoon when it comes to dealing with digital services. 'A lot of our elderly residents are not tech-savvy, and they do not perceive Singapore's Digital-First delivery of public services as an ally in helping them navigate these services. ServiceSG is intended to be a key part of this, streamlining access to digital government functions,' he wrote. See also People still applying to join PSP despite Covid-19 outbreak Mr Tiong outlined the problems a senior resident might face, giving the example of a resident who, having found been unfamiliar with a specific digital platform, would be redirected to a ServiceSG centre for assistance with government digital services. 'This redirection immediately poses a significant hurdle,' he wrote, adding that there are no ServiceSG centres in Serangoon. The nearest one is at One Punggol, which could take around 45 minutes to get to. This would be a substantial effort on the part of the senior, particularly for those who are older, who have mobility issues, or who need to take a leave from work to do so. He also wrote that in February, when his fellow WP MP at Aljunied, Gerald Giam, asked for a ServiceSG Centre in Parliament, Minister Chan Chun Sing said, 'There is no plan in the short term to start a ServiceSG Centre in Serangoon town.' If and when the senior does take the trip to a ServiceSG centre, they may discover that the specific function they need, such as a certain application from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority, may not be handled by ServiceSG. 'This critical information is often only revealed after they have expended time and effort to travel to the centre,' he noted, adding, 'This frustrating scenario is exacerbated by the absence of readily available phone numbers for ServiceSG. Residents cannot easily call beforehand to confirm if their specific enquiry can be addressed, or what documents to bring, leading to potentially wasted trips.' In cases when services do fall under the purview of ServiceSG, according to some residents, they were told, 'We cannot help you, please go to the agency.' 'This chain of experiences—from initial redirection, to a lengthy journey (especially for Serangoon residents), to discovering service gaps only upon arrival, compounded by a lack of pre-emptive phone support and sometimes unhelpful encounters—needs improvement to be the supportive, ally-like system we aspire to have,' he added. /TISG Read also: One to watch: WP's Kenneth Tiong may take Leon Perera's place at Aljunied
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Merciless Martha's Vineyard homeowner wages war against elderly locals who 'cross into her $5M land to get to beach'
A homeowner on Martha's Vineyard has sparked a legal war against her elderly neighbors, who she says are trespassing on her land to gain access to the beach. Melinda Loberg, a longtime resident of the famed Massachusetts island, filed a lawsuit against Havenside, a non-profit that provides housing for seniors, on May 12. Loberg, who works as a secretary for a local elderly support group, claimed Havenside's senior living tenants were illegally crossing her ritzy waterfront land to get to Vineyard Haven Harbor. She has lived at her $5 million idyllic home on Crocker Avenue with her husband since July 1992, and now, more than three decades later, Havenside has told Loberg its residents have a right to use a small path on her property to get to the water. The independent living facility first informed Loberg of its easement to the property in June 2024 after sending her a letter detailing that they would be allowing its residents to use the 13-foot corridor on the north side of her land to gain access to the beach, according to the lawsuit obtained by The 16-page lawsuit, which goes over a detailed history of the beachfront property, claimed that when she and her husband Michael first purchased the home on the luxurious island, the deed did not at all reference any access easements. It went on to state that any access rights were taken away before Havenside took over its property. Loberg also emphasized that she has been using the land for 30 years which voids the corporation's past claims to it. In response, Havenside said that information is false and that it has had an easement there since 1890, the Vineyard Gazette reported. The specific area that the senior center is claiming to control is a space that the Loberg's 'cleared the existing vegetation' from, along with 'removed tires, bottles, car mats, and large chunks of macadam and then planted Parcel 2A with grass,' the documents read. Following the cleanup, the couple decided to install a 170-foot fence along the area in question - cutting off access for more than two decades, the lawsuit stated. Havenside said they planned to gain access to the beach by cutting the grass between the fence and garden beds to construct an entry gate, the filing continued. After informing Loberg of its plans, the corporation sent a tenant by the name of Frank Rapoza over to the property, 'carrying tools,' so he could 'install' the fence, per the lawsuit. Tensions quickly rose when Loberg saw him standing in her driveway ready to get to work, so much so that she threatened to call the police if he attempted to install the gate. With that, Rapoza fled the property, but soon after Loberg received a phone call from him 'threatening to return and install the gate,' the lawsuit detailed. 'In response to this phone call, Plaintiff installed a "No Trespass" sign on the Property line near the Havenside Property,' it added. A manager with Havenside then reached out to Loberg and stated that Rapoza 'was not an agent of Havenside or its Board. Any representation otherwise has never been authorized.' Loberg, a former Tisbury select board member, chose to sit down with Havenside on July 14, 2024 to talk about the issue, but 'representatives were not inclined to discuss alternative solutions and instead insisted upon the existence of the purported access easement,' her lawsuit read. Later that month, the corporation offered to 'remove' the easement in exchange for 'a cash payment,' but Loberg denied the 'extortive offer.' By October of that year, Havenside filed a Wetlands Protection Act Notice of Intent (NOI) with the local Conservation Commission 'seeking approval to make improvements on Plaintiff's Property within the alleged Access Easement,' the lawsuit said. In that filing, 'Havenside falsely claimed to be the owner of the Property, failing to accurately fill out Section 3 requiring them to list the Property Owner if different from the applicant,' it went on. In February, the Loberg's said they 'discovered a group from Havenside, including Mr. Rapoza, trespassing on Plaintiff's Property and in the process of cutting Plaintiff's Fence in order to install a gate.' Loberg then called the police who asked the group to vacate, but 'declined' to forcibly remove them, noting that it was a 'civil matter.' The lawsuit also included an image of Rapoza, an alleged 'manager of Havenside,' and unknown person 'destroying a section of Plaintiff's Fence and installing the gate.' A police report was also filed in relation to the incident. 'Mr. Rapoza subsequently returned and finished installing the Gate,' the lawsuit said, adding that Havenside has since added signage to the entrance of Loberg's property stating that residents are allowed to use that as an access point to the beach. Loberg 'feels harassed and threatened by the conduct of Havenside's tenants and does not feel safe on her Property as a result of their conduct,' the filing concluded. She has demanded that 'Havenside, its guests, tenants and invitees' are not allowed to access her property and that it does not benefit from any easement over the Plaintiff's Property for the purpose of accessing Vineyard Haven Harbor.' An initial hearing was held on May 20 and the next is set for June 16, according to documents. Lucinda Kirk, the property manager of Havenside, told the Vineyard Gazette Loberg's claims in the lawsuit are 'bogus' and were made as a way for her to get rid of the non-profit by bringing on legal fees. 'The issue for Havenside is to provide equal access for our residents,' Kirk told the outlet. 'We have residents with limited mobility and chronic health conditions who need safe and easy access to the beach. Serenity and saltwater are important for our senior's health.' Kirk said Havenside is working on obtaining a pro bono lawyer to fight for residents to gain access to the waterfront.
