Builders settle with Revenue for €7m

A BUILDING firm has settled its tax liability with the Revenue for just under €7 million in the largest settlement ever collected.

Torose Construction, 12 Berkeley street, Dublin 7, paid €6,936,320 in tax and penalties for under-declaring corporation tax and VAT. Back tax accounted for €3,327,045, while fines added another €3,609,275.

A spokesman for the Revenue said the settlement was the biggest ever made.

Formerly known as Lido Construction, Torose was set up in 1979, but went into liquidation in October. Its directors are listed as Laurence Keegan, Mairéad Keegan and Patrick Mee. Mr Keegan had no comment to make when contacted yesterday. Lido was involved in an apartments development at Castleknock College in west Dublin; housing in Templeogue, and another development of detached houses on the Powerscourt estate at Enniskerry, Co Wicklow.

The settlement was published in yesterday's issue of Iris Oifigiúil, which said the Revenue had collected more than €14 million in the three months from June to September as a result of 66 investigations. Names published only relate to settlements over €12,700.

The list includes 11 cases arising out of the Revenue's investigation of National Irish Bank (NIB) accounts held in a special offshore investment savings scheme.

The largest NIB settlement listed was James Stanley, 41 Claremont Road, Sandymount, Dublin 4, a company director, who paid €925,788 in total €396,776 in taxes and €528,012 in penalties.

The second-largest settlement in the period was for €1,010,838 and was made by Michael Drummond, 3 Tara Court, Glasheen Road, Cork. Mr Drummond is listed as a property letting and company director and he paid €478,350 in tax and €532,488 in penalties.

A separate list detailed 175 cases in which a fine ranging from €300 to €5,000 was levied by the Revenue. The total fines in the 175 cases came to €157,000.

One of these Sachs Hotel, 19-29 Morehampton Road, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, was fined €2,535 for not lodging a P35 form. In the past year, the Revenue has collected just under €33.5 million in back taxes and penalties. Earlier this year, the first settlement in an Ansbacher case was made and also the first bogus non-resident account holder paid back taxes and fines.