Is there any point in obeying tax law?

A 12 month sentence, even suspended, is no minor issue though.

How much tax was evaded in this case?
 
"Is there any point in obeying tax law?"
Yes, because it's the right thing to do.
 
I think there is.
Interest and penalties mean generally you'll end up paying three times the amount you've dodged.
Tax rates in Ireland are considered fair and equitable...let's face it in the 80's when most of the corruption occured they were not so there was an incentive to cheat.
Finally people realise that if they pay their taxes and devote the time they might have spent dodging them to constructive attempts at making money they'll be better off.
 
i'm afraid i don't know enough about the law to know what impact a suspended sentence would have in this case - ie does it only come into effect where the criminal commits another similar offence or any offence?
even so suspended sentences are a waste of time.
and as for purples post i obviously agree with you, what i'm trying to point out is that the consequences of not doing the right thing are so minimal that there comes a tipping point where someone might just go feck it.
i'm not sure how much was evaded, if any, i think the case involved fraudulently applying for a tax clearance cert knowing that he didn't qualify for one.
would prefer this to be open to the masses but suppose it really is a LOS topic.
 
unlikely anyone in this country will ever go to jail for not paying tax. least of all a politician. better chance of a snowball surviving in hell. didnt galway co council change their rules so that a person who did actually get jail for stealing could get back into the co council ? and who did he steal from? the co council. we get what we deserve.
 
I don't see what the fuss is about. Collins has already made a settlement with the Revenue Commissioners and paid interest and penalties as part of this settlement. The Revenue had the option at that point of referring his case to the DPP for possible prosecution. They did not exercise this option.

Collins was then prosecuted for the offence of knowingly applying for a tax clearance cert, ie ticking a box on the form that stated that his tax affairs were in order, even though he knew at the time that this was not true. I have worked in tax for 20 years and before Collins' case, I had never heard of anyone being prosecuted for such an offence.

I neither know nor support Collins in any way but he is one of several hundred (perhaps over a thousand) tax defaulters whose settlements have been published by Revenue in the past few years. A clear majority of those defaulters are business people who as a matter of course would be expected to require tax clearance certificates from time to time for business purposes. If Collins is the only one out of these people to be prosecuted on this charge, then he deserves to ask why he has been singled out in this way.
 
ubiquitous said:
If Collins is the only one out of these people to be prosecuted on this charge, then he deserves to ask why he has been singled out in this way.
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Or the public deserves to ask why all the others were not treated likewise?
 
In the 80's as mentioned tax rates were high, business wasn't good and emigration was the only route for many. I recall many a day spent placating tax collectors, sheriffs messengers etc. on behalf of strapped clients. At that time it seemed everyone ( in the self-employed arena ) was in arrears with taxes. The introduction of tax clearance certs for pubs almost caused mass closures especially in rural areas. Very few clients had regard for Revenue.

Over the last few years I've noticed a majopr change in attitude. Compliance is high, I don't know when I last had to broker a deferred payment arrangement for taxes with a client & Revenue. The attitude is very much, well we're doing ok in business, we must make sure to keep things straight, file on time, pay our tax bills. Compliance is part of everyday life now. Who want's trouble with Revenue "not me" say most people.

THere will always be some delinquent cases. High profile ones do get on one's nerve and yes, I'm annoyed too at the sometimes lenient decisions handed down. But hey, death and taxes are always with us so why not make the journey as least painful as possible. Enjoy life, file on time and go on holidays the week before October 31st ( I am :D )
 
The issue is that Collins being a public official is a different case than a publican doing the same thing. If you know that a publican is not paying his excise duty or is using the profits form the pub to fund international terrosism then you can exercise your right to bring you business elsewhere. You cannot decide to not pay rates or taxes on account of the fact that you feel the public representative is a bit dodgy.

This is why we shoudl feel entitled to believe that Collins should have faced a less lenient sentence.
 
pay your taxes and enjoy a less stress life.

Theres plenty of tax avoidance you can have a crack at if you've got the bucks. Some of this involves risks - taking interpretations of legislation, that maybe the legislators didnt envisage, but that are still sustainable.

Bad advice for anyone to simply evade tax and take risks other than calculated technically arguable ones. At least if you lose those risks the chances are you wont be published, face penalties.
 
No, if you can get away with it, seems to be the unwritten law in this country, thats why nobody really cares about Bertie's unaccounted for
cash, that he cant remember anything about, due to personal trauma. I also cant believe he was stupid enough to lodge all that cash in a bank??? Doh!
I pay all my taxes, vat, commercial rates, etc recently had an audit, was given six weeks notice, which was a very stressful time. I wish they had given us only 2 weeks, less time to worry. I spent 2 weeks getting everything ready, put my normal work on hold...but then I met the tax man face to face, nearly got sick when they came in, but it turned out o.K. He was very mannerly, apologizing for taking up our time, complimentary of our work, he was very nice but also very very tired. Lest I mislead you, he was also very thorough. Anyway I was so relieved when he was gone. If you are in bizness, chances are he could be paying a visit to you sometime soon, so obey tax law.
 
To go back to the original post, how much was the TD's problem, it was a jolly old non-resident account.

"It is the States case that an account at the AIB in Kilmallock, in the name of Joseph and Ann Collins of Croydon in Surrey was in fact Michael Collins account. Mr Collins eventually admitted to the existence of this account and met his tax liability of €130, 602."

Imogen
 
imogen said:
To go back to the original post, how much was the TD's problem, it was a jolly old non-resident account.

"It is the States case that an account at the AIB in Kilmallock, in the name of Joseph and Ann Collins of Croydon in Surrey was in fact Michael Collins account. Mr Collins eventually admitted to the existence of this account and met his tax liability of €130, 602."

Imogen
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Shouldn't the Banks have been held to account in the Courts on the whole bogus non resident account thing?
It's like prosecuting the heroin user but not the dealer.
 
Hoagy said:
Shouldn't the Banks have been held to account in the Courts on the whole bogus non resident account thing?
It's like prosecuting the heroin user but not the dealer.
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In this particular case, the dealers "promised" the State that they and their legal eagles would contest at every juncture any attempt by the State to prosecute them or pursue them for the tax that they failed to deduct from the users.

The State chickened out and went after the users instead.
 
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