Publican owed more than €1m to Revenue

HAVING Bertie Ahern sitting at the counter drinking Bass or having the Taoiseach’s constituency office across the road from his pub, didn’t deter Thomas Kennedy from keeping more than €1 million salted away from the taxman’s greedy grasp.

The late publican was revealed yesterday as one of the nation’s tax cheats. He paid more than €1.05 million for under-declaration of income tax and VAT. He also held a bogus non-resident account. Not bad for a man running Kennedy’s bar in the heart of Drumcondra across the road from St Luke’s, the Taoiseach’s constituency office. Mr Ahern is still a regular at the pub.

Mr Kennedy was revealed yesterday as one of a gallery of 182 tax cheats who, between them, paid over €78 million in fines and penalties to the Revenue. They were forced to pay the money between October and December last year. Also on the rogues’ list is Vivian O’Callaghan, the former Fianna Fáil senator and former chairman of Cork County Council. Mr O’Callaghan, who owns the Bantry Bay Hotel, paid out €19,499 in tax and €98.771 in penalties for under-declaring income, VAT and capital gains tax. He also held a bogus non-resident account.