Broadcaster Tom McGurk hit with €75,000 tax bill

Broadcaster Tom McGurk was hit a tax bill in excess of €75,000 for under declaration of income tax earlier this year following an audit by the Revenue Commissioners.

Revenue published its latest list of tax defaulters on Tuesday in respect of the period July to September this year.

Mr McGurk, who is described in the list as a journalist, farmer and company director, was initially billed for €42,911 by Revenue, but this figure climbed to €76,558 when interest of €16,483 and penalties of €17,164 were included.

Mr McGurk had paid the amount in the full as of the end of September.

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His case was one of 81 cases published, totalling €17,430,699. There were 34 cases exceeding €100,000, of which seven exceeded €500,000 and three of which exceeded €1 million.

In a statement to The Irish Times, Mr McGurk said he initiated high court proceedings in 2016 against his former accountants Houlihan Cushnahan & Co for negligence.

“For legal reasons I am constrained in what I can say other than to point up what is already on the public record,” he said. “I never deliberately attempted to evade tax and all of the outstanding tax amounts have now been repaid.”

Settlement

There were 27 cases in which the settlement was not fully paid as of the end of September, with the unpaid amount totalling €11,258,541.

Also named on the list was horse trainer James Leavey from Friarstown, Kildare. Mr Leavey ran up a tax bill of €1,045,195 for the under declaration of capital gains tax.

After interest totalling €444,626 and penalties of €752,958 were added, the total amount owed came to €2,242,779. Revenue said it became aware of the case following its own investigation.

The full amount remained unpaid as of the end of September.

Robert Kirby, a British literary agent who represents actors Ricky Gervais and James Corden, amongst others, owed the Revenue €52,124 in tax, interest and penalties, at the end of September.

Mr Kirby’s Irish clients include writers Rachael English and Rachel Kilfeather and the Moone Boy books written by comedian and actor, Chris O’Dowd and writer Nick Vincent Murphy.

He is a founder of London-based United Agents, which represents actors, writers and other artists.

Mr Kirby owed €35,877 in tax, along with €16,000 in interest and penalties resulting from an audit and under-declaration of income tax. His address is listed as Pearman Street in London and his occupation is given as a company director.

Elsewhere, John Sheridan, a painting and tiling contractor from Co Kildare, owes Revenue €1.5 million following a tax bill of €654,580 for the under declaration of income tax, relevant contract tax, and VAT.

Mr Sheridan was also told to pay interest of €354,664 and penalties of €490,935. Of a total bill of €1.5 million, Mr Sheridan had paid Revenue just over €3,000 as of the end of September.

Penalties

In Temple Bar, Dublin, the Peig Sayers Hotel on Eustace St was hit with a tax bill of €103,710 plus interest of €12,702 and penalties of €31,113 to bring its total debt to €147,525. The full amount was paid to Revenue by the end of September.

The biggest tax bill was attributed to Westman Plant and Civils, which owed more than €1.7 million on top of interest of €281,310 and penalties of €1.28 million. However, as the company is in liquidation, Revenue will not recoup the €3.3 million it is owed.

Dr Eamonn Quigley, a consultant at Cork University Hospital, was billed for €30,334 for under declaration of income tax, which rose to just over €43,000 when interest and penalties were included.

The gastroenterologist from Houston, Texas, had paid the amount in full as of the end of September.