Publican hit with €1m-plus tax bill

Revenue investigations into tax dodging netted €147m for the Exchequer in the first three months of the year with the name-and-shame list topped by a publican.

Seamus Delaney, the Kilkenny businessman and owner of Jas Delaney’s in the city paid out €1.36m, the highest bill and the only million euro settlement.

Joseph O’Connor, a former independent councillor from Nenagh, Co Tipperary, who made a €2.3m settlement with the Revenue in 2003, was ordered to pay up a second time.

The supermarket owner managed to avoid a repeat of his first costly Revenue audit with fines, penalties and back taxes just topping €200,000 this time.

Retried publican Bartholomew Dunne, from Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co Dublin, who ran Bartley Dunne’s pub on Lower Stephen’s Street, settled for €36,000.

In total the Defaulters List included settlements totalling €1.55m linked to Bogus Non-Resident holders, €5.17m from the Offshore probe and €8.10m linked to investigations on Single Premium Insurance Products Cases.

Nine other people were hit with fines and bills for more than €500,000.

Dingle-based fisherman John Graham faced a massive payout of €888,480 for under-declaration of income tax and penalties linked to the Single Premium Insurance probe.

Two men who had both been involved in the market garden business were fined. Dominic Jones, from the town, was hit with a €858,938 bill while retired James Farrell from Hayestown paid €582,109.

John Mulcahy, a company director from Cross Douglas Road, Cork paid €751,094 for not declaring tax and PAYE/PRSI and fines linked to Offshore Assets and the insurance scam.

Auctioneer Joseph Woodward, from Douglas Road, Cork was ordered to pay €678,720 for under-declaring tax and fines from the offshore case.

Landlord Patrick O’Shea, Bellevue, Cobh, paid €638,882 for both the offshore and insurance scams and for under-declaration of tax.

Dorothy McKane, a chemist based on O’Rahilly Street, Ballina, Co Mayo picked up a bill for €548,088 linked to the offshore assets case and for not declaring taxes.

Garage owner Patrick Lehane from Cappoquin, Co Waterford was ordered to pay €541,776 following similar investigations.

Coal merchant James O’Doherty, from Dublin’s Navan Road faced a €534,691 bill on underdeclaration of tax, the Bogus Non-Resident Account and the insurance scam.

Revenue said in the three months to the end of March there were 111 settlements which were published, totalling €20.14m.