Committee recommends that appellants of tax rulings should not be named

Finance committee says proposal to name Tax Appeals Commission apellants 'would undermine the appeals process'

Committee made its recommendation concerning the Revised General Scheme of the Finance (Tax Appeals and Fiscal Responsibility) Bill. Stock picture: Laura Hutton/RollingNews 

An Oireachtas committee has recommended that finance minister Simon Harris should not to proceed with proposals that will allow the naming of individuals of firms appealing assessments to the Tax Appeals Commission (TAC).

In a report the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach has stated that it is very clear in its view that the proposed change that would allow the naming of TAC appellants "would undermine the appeals process".

The joint committee states that it would do this “by causing potential appellants not to appeal for fear of personal details or commercially sensitive details being brought into the public domain”.

In its report, committee Leas Cathaoirleach Edward Timmins TD (FG) concluded that “to undermine the process and create a fear of appealing defeats the purpose of having an appeals process”.

Objections from stakeholders

The joint committee has made its strong recommendation concerning the Revised General Scheme of the Finance (Tax Appeals and Fiscal Responsibility) Bill after objections were made by stakeholders in the legal and financial sectors against the naming of appellants in tax appeals cases.

The proposed amendments in the General Scheme of the Finance (Tax Appeals and Fiscal Responsibility) Bill 2025 give the TAC, who hear such appeals, discretion to decide whether a tax appeal hearing should be held in camera, not the taxpayer.

They also set down that taxpayers should be identified in published decisions on appeals unless there are “special and limited circumstances”.

System 'does not need to be changed'

On behalf of the joint committee, Mr Timmins stated that it “very much agrees with the consensus of both legal and financial stakeholders that the tax appeal system does not need to be changed, and if it were changed in line with the current proposal it would have an extremely negative impact upon taxpayers' willingness to seek independent review of Revenue decisions and assessments”.

In a submission, the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) contended that taxpayers must have a right of appeal to the TAC which maintains their right to privacy.

In the CAI submission it states that it has "a concern that removal of a right to require a TAC appeal hearing heard in private will discourage taxpayers from appealing what they consider to be erroneous assessments. This could potentially erode trust in the tax system”.

The submission states that "the revenue-raising power exercised by the Revenue Commissioners is arguably the most powerful act of the executive function of government. Taxpayers must have a right of appeal which maintains there right to privacy in the first instance”.

In a separate submission, Deloitte has stated that "in practical terms, this change could significantly deter taxpayers from pursuing appeals, especially individuals and owner-managed businesses who value confidentiality”.