Business woman fined €5,000 for not making tax return

WEXFORD business woman Bríd C Ní Dhubhgaill of 66 South Main Street was fined €5,000 as her prosecution for failure to make tax returns moved one step closer to being finalised.

However, the long standing case remains before the District Court as 20 more charges remain outstanding.

State Solicitor Kevin O’Doherty reminded the court that the defendant faced 13 charges relating to failure to make VAT returns on time and eight relating to income tax.

He reported to the court sitting on Tuesday that Ms Ní Dhubhgaill informed him the VAT returns had finally been posted to the Revenue Commissioners the previous Friday.

However, officials at the relevant offices in Limerick and Wexford informed him that they had not yet been received.

He described the attitude of the accused as ‘a case of positive obstruction’ with re-hashed excuses for the delays being offered.

He noted that Ms Ní Dhubhgaill had worked in the past for Revenue and commented that she was not someone who could claim she did not understand the tax system.

Judge John Cheatle advised her that filing the missing returns would not change the fact that she had been in default. However, it might persuade the court to take a softer view when considering the level of fines to be imposed.

The accused woman said she still needed some time to compile the income tax returns saying: ‘ There are complications.’

Judge Cheatle handed down a conviction for failure to file an income tax return for the year 2008 in time with the fine of €5,000.

All other matters 20 of them in all were adjourned, for the tenth time, to a later date.