The Revenue Commissioners will keep open phone lines for businesses working on warehoused debt repayment plans until Friday, past the May 1st deadline for companies to engage with the tax authority on the matter.
More than 8,600 businesses have set up payment arrangements with Revenue concerning warehoused tax debt in advance of Wednesday’s deadline, Revenue confirmed on Tuesday evening. It said an increasing number of applications for phased payment arrangements (PPAs) had been submitted through its online system in recent days.
“Given the increasing levels of engagement, the Collector General’s division will continue to work on payment plans” and its phone lines will be open until Friday, May 3rd, said Revenue.
As of the close of business on Tuesday, it said “over 8,600 payment arrangements have now been set up on our system” while it was actively progressing a further 1,700 PPA applications.
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In total over 75 per cent of the €1.5 billion “in the debt warehouse” is now either paid in full or under a phased payment arrangement, Revenue said. Some 98 per cent of the debt in the scheme is owed by just 15,000 businesses.
“We expect that businesses will continue to finalise payments and submit payment proposals this evening and tomorrow,” it said.
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Revenue also noted that there was no expectation for businesses to pay their warehoused debt in full by the May 1st deadline.
“However, in order to retain the benefit of the 0 per cent interest rate applicable to warehoused debt, businesses must engage with us in a meaningful way by this key date,” it said.
“Where a business fails to meaningfully engage with us, the balance outstanding will immediately be subject to standard debt collection proceedings and the standard interest rate of 8 per cent/10 per cent will apply,” it said.
“The crucial message, therefore, for any business that has not yet engaged with us in respect of their warehoused debt, is to act now and engage with us immediately to formulate a payment plan,” Revenue said
The Revenue’s scheme was introduced at the height of the pandemic in May 2020 to provide liquidity support to businesses, allowing them to defer paying various tax liabilities until their financial position returned to normal.
In light of the challenging economic situation linked to higher energy prices in 2022, Revenue extended the scheme with companies now given until May 1st this year to start making arrangements to repay.
Minister for Finance Michael McGrath earlier this year reduced the annual rate of interest charged against warehoused taxes from 3 per cent to zero.
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