Consultants pay €19m in tax bills

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has confirmed 16 medical consultants have each made settlements of more than €300,000 arising from Revenue investigations.

Mr Noonan confirmed of the €19.2m in settlements to date, some €16.4m relates to tax, €1.7m relates to interest and €1.1m relates to penalties.

There are 203 open Revenue cases against consultants. Fianna Fáil Finance spokesman Michael McGrath said yesterday that the eventual bill to consultants could hit €50m.

In a written Dáil reply to Mr McGrath on the issue, Mr Noonan said: “A key focus of the Revenue enquiries in relation to the tax affairs of medical consultants is the tax issues arising from the incorporation of medical consultants’ businesses.”

“In that context, Revenue have confirmed that the 128 compliance interventions concluded to date include both medical consultants and their company businesses, as appropriate 95 individual medical consultants and 33 consultants’ company businesses.”

In the figures, Mr Noonan said that an additional eight consultants made settlements between €250,000 and €300,000; 22 between €150,000 and €250,000; 29 between €50,000 and €150,0000 and 53 less than €53,000.

Mr Noonan declined to reveal the highest amount arising from the Revenue Commissioners’ confidentiality obligations where they “are precluded from giving details of the settlement on grounds that such a disclosure might facilitate the identification of the person concerned at a future date”.

Mr Noonan said “Revenue has confirmed the remaining 203 open cases are at various stages of consideration. Revenue’s enquiries in the medical sector are ongoing, with further interventions likely to be opened in the course of 2015”.