Tax defaulters pay up €20m

An Asian supermarket owner and one of gaming tycoon Richard Quirke’s companies are among the top payers in the latest tax defaulters list.

Ji Rong Zheng, who ran a foodstore on Parnell Street, Dublin, faced fines and penalties of €1.59m for under-declaration of income tax and VAT.

The Dublin Pool and Juke Box Co, of which Mr Quirke is a director with his wife Anne, ran up a bill of €803,485 for under-declaration of VAT.

The businessman is also behind the arcade Dr Quirkey’s Good Time Emporium on O’Connell Street and was a major backer of plans to build a super-casino in Tipperary.

The Revenue said that in the three months to March its officers made settlements worth €20m with 126 tax defaulters, six of which exceeded €500,000.

The top end of the list also included Ivan Diver, from Coolcholly, Ballyshannon, Co Donegal, listed as a retired employee, who has been hit with a tax bill for €1.5m.

He avoided tax by under-declaration of income tax and capital gains tax and he was also investigated for breaking tax rules in relation to offshore assets and the single-premium insurance investigation.

Revenue also said that of the 126 cases it settled, seven, totalling more than €3m, relate to investigations into offshore funds.