Revenue remain tight-lipped on Moriarty recommendations

THE Revenue Commissioners are remaining tight-lipped about their views on a recommendation by the Moriarty Tribunal for the introduction of legislation to restrict the level of contact between politicians and tax officials.

A spokesperson for Revenue yesterday declined to comment on the proposal by the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty.

The chairman has indicated he intends to make a specific recommendation on the measure in his final report which is due to be published next year.

Mr Justice Moriarty said he was “somewhat concerned” by evidence given by the former Revenue chairman, Philip Curran, that there was a “fairly regular practice” of receiving letters from politicians urging more favourable treatment for certain taxpayers.

Although Mr Justice Moriarty said the trend may have declined in recent years, he claimed that Revenue officials were not unlike the Director of Public Prosecutions in terms of the far-reaching, independent powers they exercised on behalf of the State.

However, he stressed that it was not to suggest that there was anything wrong for politicians to contact tax officials to draw their attention to something of which they might have been unaware.

“There is nonetheless potential for concern if this practice remains prevalent, particularly if there are representations from Government ministers, who might be perceived within Revenue to have some form of indirect influence or power in this regard,” said Mr Justice Moriarty.

He suggested legislation similar to the Prosecution of Offences Act 1974 could be introduced. It makes it unlawful for people to contact the Attorney General, DPP or Garda for the purpose of influencing a decision whether or not to initiate criminal proceedings.

“It would in practice be directed more to persuading people in positions of authority from making such representations, rather than to what might be termed ‘crank’ communications. It might indeed serve to alleviate the commitments of public representatives facing excessive demands from those they represent,” said the chairman.

Last night, a Revenue spokesperson said the tax authorities continued to receive representations from many quarters including politicians.

“They can be very useful in drawing attention to the circumstances of a particular case,” said the spokesperson.

However, he stressed that such representations did not have any impact on the treatment of any individual under the tax code.

The Revenue Commissioners declined to comment further on the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal on their handling of the tax affairs of either Charles Haughey or Ben Dunne.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said any legislation as recommended by the Moriarty Tribunal would be a matter for the Department of Finance.

A spokesperson for the Department for Finance said officials would not comment on the report as they were still examining its contents.