Over 6,460 customers of the Revenue Commissioners have warehoused debt with Revenue totalling almost €1.9bn - an average individual debt of over €294,000 for that large cohort.
That is according to new figures provided by Minister for Finance, Michael McGrath who said that the total amount of tax warehoused is €2.2bn.
The €1.9bn owed through the warehousing scheme by the 6,462 customers works out to an average debt owed of €294,026 by those Revenue clients.
In a Dail reply to TD Richard Bruton on the issue, Minister McGrath stated that at the end of March 2023, the value of debt warehoused was €2.216bn for 63,600 businesses.
He said that of this total some 31% have warehoused debts of less than €100; some 15% have warehoused debts of between €101 and €1,000; and a further 19% have warehoused debts between €1,001 and €5,000.
He said: "In total, 41,294 businesses in the warehouse - 65% of the total - have an outstanding balance of less than €5,000."
He said that the bulk of the debt figure is warehoused by just 6,462 customers, with outstanding balances greater than €50,000 totalling almost €1.9 billion of the overall figure of €2.2 billion.
Minister McGrath stated that it is worth reflecting on those numbers "and the fact that two thirds of the businesses that have tax debts warehoused owe less than €5,000".
He said: "I recognise that this is a significant amount of money for a lot of businesses but in the great majority of cases, with goodwill and co-operation between the business and the Revenue Commissioners, it should be possible to put in place repayment arrangements over a period of time.
In response to Alan Dillon TD, Minister McGrath said that the Revenue Commissioners "have assured me that they will be as flexible and supportive as possible. The requirement that people engage with Revenue is important and it is important that we all emphasise the need to do that".
Deputy Dillon said that some of the letters he has seen that have been issued by county sheriffs locally leave a lot to be desired "and the language that is being used is challenging for those on the receiving end of them".
The Mayo TD said: "It only adds to the impact of anxiety and concern when that happens."
Minister McGrath stated that last October, the Revenue Commissioners announced an extension to the period during which debts can remain parked in the warehouse.
He said that this means that businesses no longer have the challenge of making arrangements to repay their warehoused debt until May 1st 2024.
He said: "This significant additional time should greatly support businesses in their recovery from the impacts of the pandemic and the energy crisis and prevent business failure. Importantly also, businesses are still able to avail of the reduced 3% interest rate from 1 January 2023, as opposed to the general interest rate of 10% when they come to pay the debt."
Minister McGrath stated that it is worth underlining the point that the requirement is to have entered into an arrangement with Revenue by May 2024.
He said: "It is not that the business has to have repaid the warehoused tax by that date; it just has to have entered into an arrangement. Over the next ten to 11 months, I urge businesses to engage with the Revenue Commissioners and put in place that arrangement."
He saids that "the moral of the story is that I am asking businesses to engage with the Revenue Commissioners and to ensure there is an arrangement in place before May of next year".
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
