Thu Sep 12 01:30:00 UTC 2024: ## Retired Farmer Hit with €364,513 Tax Bill After Losing Appeal
A retired farmer has been ordered to pay a hefty €364,513 in income tax and VAT after losing an appeal against the Revenue Commissioners. The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) upheld Revenue’s assessment, finding that the farmer had significantly understated his income over a three-year period.
The farmer, who declared a combined income of €493,443 for 2013, 2014, and 2015, had lodgements totaling €1.99 million in his accounts during that time. Revenue argued that the farmer had underreported income from various sources, including the sale of agricultural products like silage wrap, on which he had not charged VAT.
The farmer claimed that his income came solely from cattle sales and some fertilizer contract work, and that his bank account was used by others for “facilitation arrangements” that brought him no personal gain. He also claimed to be a bulk buyer and distributor of agricultural supplies for other farmers.
However, the Appeal Commissioner, Simon Noone, found these explanations unconvincing, stating that they failed to account for the “very significant difference” between the declared income and the transactions in the farmer’s accounts. Mr. Noone also rejected the farmer’s explanation regarding the sale of wrap, finding his evidence “vague, extremely general, and contradictory.”
The farmer, who described the Revenue assessments as “off the scale altogether,” is now faced with the daunting task of settling the €364,513 tax bill.
First Piper 