€1.7bn recovered by Revenue Commissioners' special investigations

The Revenue Commissioners said today that special investigations have now recovered a total of €1.7bn in untaxed income.

About €700m was seized last year alone, mainly from off-shore related investigations, according to the 2004 annual report.

More than 10,000 notices of intention to disclose undeclared life assurance-invested income were received by the May 23 deadline this year.

Revenue Chairman Frank Daly said he was worried about the number of big earners who use a range of legal measures to minimise the amount of tax they pay: “There is a concern there, in the sense that if you have this few out there that it makes it more difficult for us to actually foster a tax-compliant culture.”