Revenue collects almost €128bn in 2023

The Revenue Commissioners collected almost €128 billion in 2023, its annual report showed, as voluntary compliance rates continued at high levels.

Gross receipts were €127.9 billion, including €26.3 billion in non-exchequer receipts collected on behalf of other Government departments and agencies. Net exchequer receipts were €87.2 billion.

A May deadline to take action on debt warehoused during the Covid-19 pandemic is looming, with almost €1.6 billion warehoused by more than 53,000 customers as of April 23rd. Some 70 per cent of those customers owe less than €5,000, with the bulk – €1.35 billion – belonging to about 4,800 customers.

Non-warehoused debt available for collection at the end of 2023 rose to €1.4 billion.

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More than 291,000 compliance interventions with a yield of €787 million and 85 tax avoidance cases with a yield of €16.5 million were completed during the year.

[ Firms urged to engage with Revenue over €1.7bn in warehoused tax debts ]

Revenue’s systems have been modernised in recent years, and a growing number of taxpayers are managing their own affairs through the online MyAccount service, with 1.4 million 2022 PAYE IT Returns managed during the year.

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Revenue said it would continue working to modernise taxes and duties this year, working with other Government departments, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Commission and other international bodies.

It is planning further phases of the VAT consultation to support the development of the European Commission’s proposals on VAT in the digital age, and will also look at the Pillar 2 Global Anti-Base Erosion rules.

Another area of focus will be engagement with those impacted by the UK’s new import requirements, supporting business and trade in implementing the new rules.

Revenue will also continue to focus on classification of employment status following a Supreme Court decision last year that ruled delivery drivers for a pizza restaurant should be treated as employees, not contractors.

“Although the judgment did not change the law in relation to the classification of employment, it provided significant clarity on the key factors to be considered when classifying an individual’s employment status for income tax purposes,” said Revenue’s Niall Cody.

“We have been working with the Department of Social Protection and Workplace Relations Commission to update the code of practice on determining employment status, and separately on the development of our own guidelines on the impact of the judgment, and the classification of employment status will continue to be a focus area for our compliance activity going forward.”

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