Arcade operator, farmer and company director top tax defaulters’ list

A Dublin-based amusement arcade operator, a Co Sligo farmer and a Dublin company director topped the latest list of tax defaulters.

The 107-strong list, published by the Revenue Commissioners, made settlements totalling €19.64 million.

The largest settlement was made by fair and amusement arcade operators Groundview Limited, of 15 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2, which used to operate Dawson’s amusement arcade on the Bray seafront before it was demolished.

The company, whose directors are listed as Peter Courtney and Fergal Fogarty both with addresses in Howth, made a settlement of €2.39 million that related to the under-declaration of income tax.

This was followed by farmer Joseph P Clarke, from Carrowkeel, Beltra in Co Sligo , who made a settlement of €1.38 million for the under-declaration of capital gains tax following a Revenue audit.

In third place was Dublin company director Frank O’Reilly, from Charlestown Complex, St Margaret’s Road in Finglas, who settled for €1.35 million again relating to the under-declaration of income tax.

Mr O’Reilly is a director of car maintenance and repair firm Multipart Automotive Limited, which is based in Ballybough in Dublin.

The rest of the list, which covers the three-month period to the end of September, included building contractors, restaurateurs, medical practitioners and company directors.

Of the 107 published cases, 33 were for amounts exceeding €100,000; of which 10 exceeded €500,000. In total, there were five settlements which exceeded €1 million.

The Revenue said nine of the 107 settlements, yielding €3.89 million, related to its investigation into offshore assets and funds.

A total of seven landlords were on the list but the Revenue said there was no particular focus to its ongoing tax investigations.

A spokeswoman confirmed there had been a greater concentration on cash businesses and the rental sector in the years since the financial crash.

Sablecross, a company involved in the supply of security services with an address in Santry, north Dublin, made a settlement for €1.15 million for the under-declaration of PAYE, PRSI and VAT.

Colm Kearins, a cattle dealer also from Co Sligo, also made a settlement from €1.06 million for the under-declaration of tax and capital gains tax following an audit.

Another sizeable settlement was made by Dublin company director James Moran from Dalkey Avenue, Dalkey.

Mr Moran, who is a director of Access Control Technology Limited – a Dublin-based company involved in the supply of control products for the security industry, made a settlement for €926,000 again for the under-declaration of income tax and for offshore assets.

Another notable was the publican and restaurateur Frank Gill, associated with the well-known Monks restaurant in Ballyvaughan, Co Clare, who settled for an amount of €73,000 related to the under-declaration of income tax and VAT.