Naming taxpayers who appeal Revenue assessments against them will deter many from legitimately challenging their tax treatment for fear of reputational damage, the Irish Tax Institute says.
Under current rules, taxpayers taking a case to the Tax Appeals Commission have the right to demand an “in camera” [private] hearing with the published outcome also anonymised.
Proposed amendments in the General Scheme of the Finance (Tax Appeals and Fiscal Responsibility) Bill 2025 grant the appeal commissioners, not the taxpayer, the discretion to decide whether a tax appeal hearing should be held in camera. They also set down that taxpayers should be identified in published decisions on appeals unless there are “special and limited circumstances”.
The institute, which represents tax professionals, said the change would have a “chilling effect” on taxpayers, fundamentally changing the tax appeal process.
In a submission to the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, which is conducting pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill, Irish Tax Institute president Shane Wallace said a survey of members highlighted “profound concerns about fairness, privacy and the effective functioning of the tax system should the proposed amendments proceed”.
Tax matters, they argue, are inherently private, involving sensitive personal and commercial information.
“Tax disputes heard at the Tax Appeals Commission often arise from differing interpretations of complex legislation, genuine errors or legitimate disagreements about tax treatment,” they said, noting that about one in five cases was found in favour of the taxpayer.
“This clearly demonstrates that in a significant number of cases, where a taxpayer genuinely disagrees with an assessment, pursuing an appeal leads to a different and fairer outcome,” Mr Wallace said.
The institute drew a comparison with the Revenue’s quarterly tax defaulters’ list where errant taxpayers are named, which involves taxpayers who have not co-operated with Revenue and engaged in serious noncompliance.
Could the decision to spend most of next year’s corporation tax come back to bite the Government?
Naming taxpayers challenging their assessments “could distort competition, harm commercial interests or provide undue advantages to competitors as well as cause reputational damage, in particular where complex disputes about the technical application of rules could end up being inaccurately portrayed as aggressive tax avoidance”, they said.
The proposed changes would result in more taxpayers deciding to settle their appeal, despite feeling they have been incorrectly assessed, rather than proceed with a public hearing, the institute argues.
“Genuine appellants settling prematurely, not because the Revenue Commissioners have the stronger legal argument, but because the reputational risk of public exposure is too high, fundamentally undermines the basis of a case being taken on merit,” Mr Wallace said.
“It also means the balance of power shifts further away from the taxpayer, who may be punished in the court of public opinion for daring to contest an assessment, and towards the State.”
Urging the Government not to implement the proposal for public hearings, he said the current position where appeal outcomes are published with identities anonymised “achieves a satisfactory position without sacrificing fairness or privacy. It ensures that the wider public can understand how decisions are made, how the law is applied and what reasoning underpins those decisions.”