Courts / Dublin / Report
Landlord failed to pay almost €500k in tax on rental income
Summary
Paul Smyth, aged 64, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for failing to pay nearly €500,000 in tax on rental income from 15 properties between 2007 and 2009. The court found the total loss to the Revenue Commissioners at €848,444, including €498,949 in unpaid income tax and additional interest. Smyth had been collecting rent from HSE tenants and cash payments, and had used three identities—Paul Smyth, Paul Jones, and Daniel Smyth—to acquire the properties. In 2009, Revenue officers discovered forged driver licences and evidence of €599,760 deposited into three accounts owned by Smyth. He had previously been convicted for failing to file tax returns for 2003‑2006 and for larceny and assault. All his properties were repossessed. The sentence was back‑dated to September 2016, when he was arrested in Spain, and the judge noted a significant level of dishonesty in his conduct. Paul Smyth pleaded guilty.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Landlord failed to pay almost €500k in tax on rental income. Charges or matters: failing to pay tax on rental income between 2007 and 2009. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- 22 October 2009 Other
- 26 March 2014 Adjournment
- 10 April 2014 Adjournment
- October 2014 Adjournment
- September 2016 Incident
- 2007 and 2009 Other
- 2005 and 2006 Incident
- 2017-01-13 Publication
Why: " She added that his guilty plea "is diluted to some extent because it came very late in the day". CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: failing to pay tax on rental income between 2007 and 2009 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Melanie Greally imposed a sentence of two years to be backdated to September 2016, when Smyth was arrested in Spain.; The case was adjourned until October 2014, but Smyth also failed to appear for that date.
Places mentioned
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