A 38-year-old businessman has been given a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to 40 tax offences.
Gerard Barrett from the Paddocks, Castleredmond, Midleton, Co Cork finally ended up owing the Revenue Commissioners some €467,000 in liabilities, interest and penalties.
Barrett admitted some 17 counts of filing incorrect VAT returns with a €127,000 liability and a further 14 counts of wrongly reclaiming VAT payments worth €28,000.
He ran a courier company Barrett Direct Destination, also pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of filing incorrect income tax returns for 2003 and 2004 and to seven counts of producing false invoices.
John O'Flynn of the Revenue Commissioner Investigations and Prosecutions Section told the court that the total liabilities amounted to €180,000 with €80,000 due in interest while further penalties brought the whole amount to €467,000.
Asked where the money had gone, Mr O'Flynn said it went on a lifestyle Barrett couldn't have maintained if he had been paying tax.
When Barrett was asked how he operated the business, he replied ‘very foolishly’.
The former supermarket manager said it had caused great heartache for his wife and for his family.
Judge Patrick Moran, who heard that Barrett had paid almost €12,000 to the Revenue to date, sentenced him to three years in jail but suspended it on condition that he pay over €40,000 given to him in a family loan towards his tax bill.
