[Article] Revenue crackdown on pubs and restaurants

Victor

I'm not sure how many pubs and restaurants have turnovers of €75 - €150 million, but doing an audit of Diageo + C&C + Pernod against individual pubs might throw up some nice surprises.

There is a commonly held belief that many in the retail, hospitality and construction industry grossly understate income, by covering black market business with legitimate activities (e.g. buying grey market goods for cash, paying staff in cash and then under-declaring sales).

http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-178691827-pageUrl--2FHome.asp

Revenue crackdown on pubs and restaurants
07/12/03 00:00
By Barry O'Kelly

The Revenue Commissioners are investigating thousands of companies in the pub, restaurant and leisure industry, The Sunday Business Post has learned.

The probe, launched four weeks ago, is focusing on tax compliance by cash-based businesses in two categories of turnover.

One team is investigating businesses, particularly groups of associated companies, with annual turnover of between €75 million and €150 million.

A risk assessment will be done on these businesses and an intensive audit, involving checks with suppliers, employees and customers, will be carried out on a shortlist of companies.

A second team, led by the most senior officials in Revenue, is examining the affairs of companies with turnover of more than €150 million. This probe is not restricted to the leisure industry, but will be carried out along similar lines to the first inquiry.

Informed sources said that the inquiries were being conducted partly on the basis of the levels of tax declared and turnover produced by these companies. The investigators are also working on intelligence information.

The sources said business people with interests in a variety of companies would be examined. The investigations, directed from two offices in Dublin, are part of a major restructuring of the Revenue Commissioners.

In a speech earlier this year, Revenue chairman Frank Daly spoke of a new "no-nonsense approach to non-compliance in all its forms, across all taxheads and across all sectors and groups".

"We will be reinforcing our audit programmes and, in particular, bringing a more sophisticated risk-based approach to selection for audit. This approach will begin later this year when our risk analysis system comes into operation," Daly said.

Capt'n Midnight

Should be simple enough - excluding stuff smuggled across the boarder then quantity of alcohol sold must be calculatable from the amount that's produced and imported here less that exported. - not rocket science.

First you rule out the offlicenses (they have less scope for other business)
and the turnover must be over the average price for a pint / spirits (on public display in pubs..) by the volume of alcohol sold.

BTW: those drinking surveys - has anyone tried to compare the amount we say we drink with the amount publicans say they sell ???

Reminds me of the fuss up north where legal petrol imports fell about 45% over the last few years even though car ownership went up about 10-20%

Victor

Originally posted by Capt'n Midnight
Reminds me of the fuss up north where legal petrol imports fell about 45% over the last few years even though car ownership went up about 10-20%

The problem was (mostly) it was being imported legally by individuals, just under the taxable limit. The black market in petrol and especially diesel was very much secondary.