Revenue reaps €100m from life assurance probes
Over €100m has been received by the Revenue Commissioners as part of its investigation into undisclosed life assurance funds since 1980.
More than 10,000 people have contacted Revenue since it announced the special investigation in April.
Revenue chairman Frank Daly told the Dáil Public Accounts Committee that 1,972 had paid €106m to date, in sums as low as €32 and as high as €3m.
Mr Daly said he also expected the remaining 8,000 people to have tax liabilities. “There’s more money to come. I’d be confident of that,” he explained.
The current investigation is targeting untaxed income up to €20,000 invested in lump sum or unit-linked investment funds associated with life assurance policies since 1980.
The closing date for full settlement is tomorrow.
PAC member Tom Hayes said elderly people were “living in fear of their lives” that retirement packages could be affected by the clampdown and he urged the Revenue to be sympathetic.
Mr Daly replied: “We will be fair and treat all people with a sense of equity.”
There had been 19,000 calls from the public dealt with on a special helpline, he said.
Revenue has also collected €1.8bn to date from other special investigations into offshore tax-evasion scams, including €814m in bogus non-resident accounts.
