Tax evaders ‘getting off lightly’ in courts due to snobbery

RICH tax evaders attempting to rob the State of millions of euro are being given an easy ride in the courts due to “establishment prejudice” in their favour, the powerful Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned yesterday.

The stinging criticism came as TDs expressed alarm at the disproportionately light fines being handed down to well-heeled businessmen who systematically try to fleece the Revenue.

The committee said it was concerned over the "very small" number of prosecutions for serious tax evasion in 2003 there were just six.

The PAC noted that in one of the cases, a defendant and the company to which he belonged was involved in evading €1.6 million in tax, but was fined only €1,750. The PAC made it clear it believed snobbery was behind tax evaders getting off lightly.

"For the first time, in a recent case, a defendant was sentenced to community service in respect of tax evasion. By contrast, a person who wrote fraudulent cheques for €5,300 received a jail term of 18 months. This could be viewed as a glaring prejudice on the part of the establishment," the PAC report stated.

Committee member and Green TD Dan Boyle hit out at the "double standards" operating when courts deal with wealthy tax evaders as opposed to social benefit fraudsters.

"There seems to be a feeling in some circles that tax evasion is a victimless crime, but it is not. We all suffer as a result of it. There have only been about half a dozen prison sentences handed out for serious tax evasion in the past 10 years and that is very low.

"We have to move away from fines and towards prison sentences if we are to bring home to people the seriousness of this crime. People who tend to be involved in major tax frauds, by their very nature, are often well off and can easily afford fines. That is where the double standards come in to play when you look at how people who fiddle social welfare benefits are treated, for instance."

The concern was raised as the PAC revealed Revenue Commission probes into bogus non-resident accounts and offshore assets have so far netted €2.13 billion for the Exchequer.

More than €28m of the special investigations yield had come since the end of October as a number of major probes began to be wound-up. The bulk of the money collected since October, €16.8m, came from offshore assets and life assurance policies.

The PAC described the total haul as "satisfactory."

However, they called on the Finance Department and the Revenue Commissioners to look into the effectiveness of new laws targeting those who aid and abet tax evasion.