Taxman recovers 17m as a result of Tribunal audit

A MAJOR figure under investigation by the Flood Tribunal has reached a 17m settlement with the Revenue Commissioners.

And last night, unions at RTÉ announced that they want the estimated 20 million lost by the station due to the advertising cap placed by Ray Burke in the early 90s to be now paid back.

The 17m settlement is the largest single payment that an individual has reached with the tax authorities as a result of audits which arose from evidence uncovered by the Tribunal's legal team.

The Tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Feargus Flood has revealed that over 34.5m has already been paid to the Revenue and Criminal Assets Bureau as a direct and indirect result of its work.

The Criminal Assets Bureau and Revenue officials have issued demands to a number of parties for non-compliance with tax issues arising out of matters which have been highlighted by the Tribunal.

It is understood that the CAB has also been paid several million euro by a small number of individuals.

The Government yesterday announced details of the powers of the new Corruption Assets Bureau which were promised earlier this year by the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern. Last night, a Revenue spokesperson refused to comment on how much had been collected by the Commissioners over tax compliance issues uncovered by the Flood Tribunal. Meanwhile, the RTÉ Trade Union Group is seeking legal advice on the cap placed on the national broadcaster in the 1990s.

RTE accountants told the Flood Tribunal that the station lost 18 million in ad revenues during this periods. Transmission fees payable by Century Radio to RTÉ account for a substantial portion of the further 2 million in bad debts that were written off.

The unions say the loss of this income had serious consequences for the funding of RTÉ in the early 1990s and may have resulted in unnecessary job losses.

Justice Flood concluded that Century boss Oliver Barry tried to bribe Ray Burke, then Communications Minister, with £35,000, after he received a broadcasting license. Mr Burke went on to cap RTE's ad revenue, in a move which hugely benefited Century.