Opinion: The Revenue Commissioners, a division of the Department of Finance, is on a roll. Or is it? It has been notching up success after success. It is a welcome addition to transparency and, crucially, the penalties meted out against the non-compliant were appropriate.

But that perception may have suffered a jolt following a damning report by the Irish Taxation Institute which questioned the performance of the tax gatherers in very unflattering terms. The survey's findings are all the more significant as they clash with the Revenue's own measurements of its performance.

This begs the question: are institute members painting too black a picture of the Revenue's performance, or does the Revenue data portray an overly flattering picture of itself?

The survey, carried out by Amárach Consulting on behalf of the institute in July, follows a previous study at the end of 2005, the findings of which were not published. The institute says the second survey shows only marginal improvement.

Highlighting the institute's anger with the performance of the Revenue, its president, Dermot O'Brien, complained that "there is no getting away from the fact that the levels of dissatisfaction with the performance of the Revenue Commissioners are stark".

Furthermore, he goes on to say that "the lack of resources in some areas of Revenue has, over the past three years, almost led to meltdown".

The outside observer might say, with justification, that such hurting public words could be counter-productive. After all, shouldn't tax advisors keep on the right side of the Revenue? The decision to go public undoubtedly reflects the tax advisers' increasing frustrations. In one of the findings, 32 per cent of the respondents said it takes longer than three months for the Revenue to process a tax return, with 37 per cent saying it takes longer than one month.

These figures contrast with the Revenue's own data, which covered the whole of 2005. The Revenue contends that 100 per cent of Ros (the Revenue online service) tax returns were processed within five working days. Fine, but what about this very valid question: how long does it take for a balancing statement to be received by the taxpayer?

The survey and the Revenue data are not directly comparable, of course, but nevertheless they are revealing. The tax advisers' survey is based on the response of just 284 of its members (down on the previous survey); 69 per cent of these are tax professionals and 31 per cent work in industry.

The Revenue could argue that other surveys have shown its organisation in a much better light. And significantly, its data covers all taxpayers.

However, while the Revenue findings show its performance in a better light, they are still not good. The 54 per cent response rate for income tax returns, for instance, is lower than the 56 per cent in the previous year. But, more importantly, it is considerably less than its own standard of 100 per cent.

Tax consultants and the Revenue have different priorities, of course. The tax adviser will want to minimise what his/her client pays while the Revenue will rightly want to ensure that all taxes are paid. However, they have to work together and disharmony is never a good starting point.

So did any of the members of the institute have positive feeling towards the Revenue? The answer is yes; 16 per cent said there was a speedy response to queries, 18 per cent felt the Revenue staff were knowledgeable and 25 per cent said the Revenue was professional. Maybe the tax institute should talk to those happy advisers and learn from their personal experiences? Maybe they need more personal contact. And wouldn't it be interesting to find out what tax inspectors think about tax advisers?

The Revenue has rightly received positive press with its drive against non-compliant taxpayers, but it also needs to look after its basic services.

With some 100,000 new taxpayers coming on stream per annum over the past three years, some strains are bound to show. Even against this background, the concerns of some of the tax professionals, undoubtedly emotionally extreme, need to be addressed.

The Revenue is trying to cope by changing the way it does business, but it shouldn't forget the computer-illiterate taxpayer. The Ros is proving to be a great success, and wider use of the PAYE online service - more than a million pin numbers have been issued already - should ease the congestion. The sooner this happens the better, as a clogged-up system slows down the smooth working of an essential part of the economy.