Government red tape deprives taxpayers of €330m, says FG

TAXPAYERS are missing out on €330 million they are entitled to in refunds due to deliberate Government red tape, Fine Gael claimed last night.

The party’s finance spokesman, Richard Bruton, said that over 60% of cash-back payments for private medical services, rents and bin charges are going uncollected.

An over-complicated application process means those three areas alone are swelling Exchequer coffers by a third of a billion euro which should be in the hands of taxpayers, Mr Bruton said.

Despite the fact that refunds have risen steadily from €185m in 2003 to €301m last year, Fine Gael insists this is still a “small fraction” of what people could legitimately claim and may be accounted for by fluidity in the jobs market. “The Government is refusing to return taxpayers’ money with the same vigour with which it collects it,” Mr Bruton said. “The State has an obligation to ensure that taxpayers know their entitlements. Instead of making it easier to claim refunds, the Government seems intent on making it more difficult.

“For example, on medical expenses, relief is not refunded for routine dental and eye treatments. There is also a threshold of €125 on a medical claim which just complicates things. These restrictions just add to the difficulty of making a claim. “If these restrictions were removed it would be possible to move to a simple system where claimants could sign, at the time of payment, a simple tax relief claim for return to the Revenue. Simple claim forms should be put in the hands of taxpayers which could be stamped by the supplier and retained as a record,” Mr Bruton added. Fine Gael is tabling amendments to the Finance Bill which seek to remove the deductible from medical claims and allow tax relief on routine dental and optical care.

They also aim to remove the cap from relief on bin charges, extend the period for old claims from four to six years and reduce the threshold for relief on charitable donations to €100.

A Finance Department spokesman rejected the claim that procedures were over-complicated. “We have full confidence in the performance of Revenue Commissioners in this matter.”