Jail not always the right sanction for tax defaulters

“Why aren’t they in jail?” The woman asking me the question had the newspaper at her elbow, which was over an article about Revenue collecting millions in unpaid taxes.

There are regular reports about individuals and business people striking settlements over unpaid tax.

One of the consequences of the downturn has been a change in the attitude of people to tax default. Tax default is no longer seen as a victimless crime, and there’s a greater sense of civic responsibility towards tax than there used to be.