BANK AND building society chiefs have paid over €1.3 million to the Revenue Commissioners in additional taxes and penalties on foot of a special investigation carried out over the last two years.
Chairwoman of the Revenue Commissioners Josephine Feehily has told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that its high wealth individuals and professional business unit had undertaken a review of 301 bank directors and higher paid executives in 2009.
She said that 74 individuals were found to have tax liabilities.
Ms Feehily said in a letter to the committee that the purpose of the review was to determine whether bank and building society directors as well as higher paid executives were tax compliant.
“Inquiries are now closed in 291 cases and the remaining 10 cases are ongoing. A total of €1.358,311 of additional tax (including interest and penalties of €192,106) has been collected to date from the 74 cases found to have liabilities.”
The letter written by Ms Feehily was published yesterday on the website of the Public Accounts Committee. In evidence to the committee some weeks ago Ms Feehily suggested that the reviews were initiated following a report of the remuneration oversight committee of the banks and financial institutions covered by the State guarantee (Ciroc).
“There was a report, the Ciroc report, published in relation to remuneration in the covered institutions. There was a question mark in the report, a doubt about something, that caused us to ask whether we should have a look at it.”
Asked for further details by Fine Gael deputy Kieran O’Donnell, Ms Feehily said: “It was about trying to get around the pensions restriction. As a result of the report, we looked at the remuneration of 300 directors and executives in the financial sector.”