Five open cases under doctors’ tax compliance programme

There were five interventions open under Revenue’s ‘medical consultants tax compliance programme’ at the end of 2023.

Some 777 interventions have been opened since the commencement of the programme in 2013. The number of cases closed per annum has been declining since 2016, when 197 cases were concluded. Last year, 10 cases were closed and there was a total yield of €3,388,165 in tax, interest, and penalties.

The highest annual yield was €21,608,125 in 2015. This figure included €6,565,483 in ‘uplift’, which relates to the estimated tax receipts saved or which will be collected in future due to carrying out the intervention. The total yield from 2013 to 2023 was €92,727,107.

As of the end of 2023, some 52 cases had been published in the quarterly List of Tax Defaulters.

In 2010 Revenue initiated a review of the tax affairs of consultants in the Dublin region following concerns about a tax planning strategy promoted to the medical profession. After an initial review of cases to ascertain the issues and risks, the programme was expanded in 2013 to include the tax affairs of consultants nationally.

This newspaper understands that a key aim of the programme has been to address the tax issues arising from the incorporation of consultants’ businesses. Specifically, Revenue has been examining the way some standard accounting practices associated with incorporation have been applied. Revenue has previously stated that the programme should not be interpreted as its position on incorporation of medical practices.

When asked if it was planning to draw a close to the targeted programme, a Revenue spokesperson told the Medical Independent: “Revenue takes a risk-focused approach to compliance management across the full taxpayer base. This covers and will continue to cover all sectors of the taxpayer base.”