The Irish Revenue have always been ahead of the curve with the use of information technology and data processing. When you combine this with the vast amount of information the Revenue receives and their ability to analyse and link the same with taxpayers.
Revenue Information Sources
Revenue has numerous sources of information. The main sources include:
Tax Returns
Third Party Returns
Local Property Tax
Vehicle Registration Tax
Information sharing with other Revenues
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS)
EU Mandatory Disclosure of Reportable Cross-Border Arrangements (DAC6)
Social Media
News Media
Outdoor Officers
Reports from good citizens
Processing the information
In recent years, a lot of data is received and shared by Revenue in formats that are IT friendly and can easily be interrogated and linked with taxpayers. More and more such information is triggering Revenue enquiries, audits and investigations.
Forensic Experts
Recently, Revenue have recruited experienced forensic experts, who are well qualified to further expand Revenue’s abilities to acquire, process and utilise all available information.
Media
The Revenue monitors the news media (newspapers, radio and tv) and of course social media. It is wise to be careful about what is posted to social media (including Facebook and Tweets) as such information could spark some unwelcome Revenue interest or action.
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics makes predictions about possible future or otherwise unknown events. It is defined as the use of data, algorithms, and machine learning to identify the likelihood of future results or actions based on historical information.The Revenue have experts in this area to predict where taxation risks could occur in the future, this helps them to deploy resources to areas where risk is likely to occur.
Conclusion
Big brother is watching you closer than ever before.With the amount of information publicly available and the hardware, software, and expertise available to Revenue, taxpayers need to be conscious of the information that is out there in relation to them personally and their business.Taxpayers also should be mindful of Revenue capabilities to interrogate their tax returns, business records and other third-party data with a view to establishing whether a tax offence has occurred.
HOW CAN WE HELP?
We are here to support you and your business in these unprecedented times. We would encourage you to reach out to us if you would like to discuss any of the matters referred to above. Equally feel free to call if you would like to discuss matters generally. Please accept this communication as our interpretation of the subject matter.Always take tax advice specific to your fact pattern. You are encouraged to contact us if you are unclear or would like to discuss the content.