A special Revenue investigation of the construction industry has resulted in payments of €125m.
The probe was part of a series of audits of different sectors of the economy by the tax authorities. The figures were revealed as Revenue published its annual report, which showed that a total of €45.5 billion in tax was collected in 2006. This was up €6 billion on 2005.
Hotels, take-aways, restaurants, coffees shops, computer consultants, pubs and people with rental income were targeted in a series of audits.
But the big target was the construction industry. Building companies had to pay €125m in interest, tax and penalties.
Special investigations yielded almost €120m. Of that, €88m came from the latest probe, which is into insurance policies with lump sum deposits. Revenue says it will re-double its efforts to encourage people to claim all their tax reliefs by simplifying procedures.
