Louth shops ‘that don’t have any customers’ can be investigated says Revenue Commissioners

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

The Revenue Commissioners says “challenging the shadow economy and tax evasion” is a priority following calls from a Louth councillor to investigate shops “that don’t have many customers”.

Independent councillor, Ciaran Fisher, had highlighted a growth in shops across the county where he said “footfall doesn’t seem to be commensurate with the profits being made.”

Speaking at the September meeting of Louth County Council, he called for a meeting with Revenue.

Independent.ie contacted the Revenue Commissioners to query if investigations would be carried out in response to the issues raised in Louth.

In a comprehensive response, a spokesperson said: “Revenue’s tax compliance programmes are under constant review to ensure they focus on areas of greatest risk, including risks from the shadow economy.”

The shadow economy involves activity where businesses or individuals deliberately fail to comply with tax, duty, or certain licensing obligations.

“Challenging shadow economy activity and restricting opportunities for deliberate tax and duty evasion is a priority.”

The spokesperson confirmed that Revenue “conduct a broad range of interventions targeting fraud, illicit trade, smuggling, and organised crime. Compliance activity is informed by returns submitted by taxpayers, third-party information, Tax Evasion Reports, social media, and other intelligence sources.

Sectors subject to shadow economy compliance interventions include but are not limited to retail, hospitality, mobile phone and vape shops, hairdressers/barbers, and courier services. Interventions follow the Code of Practice for Revenue Compliance and may include targeted visits and interviews with individuals on-site.”

The spokesperson confirmed that Revenue would not be attending a meeting of Louth County Council due to “taxpayer confidentiality.”

"Section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 requires Revenue to maintain taxpayer confidentiality and prohibits Revenue from disclosing taxpayer information to third parties. As such, Revenue cannot disclose any information relating to individual taxpayers or disclose details pertaining to any Revenue enquiry.”

"On this basis, Revenue is not in a position to participate in County Council meetings on matters relating to individual businesses or specific cohorts of businesses in particular locations due to reasons of tax payer confidentiality. Any concerns regarding tax compliance should be directed through the established statutory channels.”

Members of the public are encouraged to report suspected tax evasion via Revenue’s Tax Evasion (Shadow Economy Activity) Report Form. All reports are treated confidentially.

Responsibility for investigating potential money laundering activities rests with the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau, including its Financial Intelligence Unit, and in certain cases with the Criminal Assets Bureau.