Revenue Sheriff Busting My Balls

dragonbet

Ok, so I owed the revenue approx. 6k since Dec 10 for unpaid V.A.T/PAYE. I made my returns but didnt send a cheque, the only reason I havent paid is that I have been extremely busy opening a new business, employing more people, not that the government care about that.!!

So I get a Final Demand letter about 3 weeks ago sayin I have 7days to pay, the next free chance I got, about 10days later, I went into my accountant (20-4-11 Wednesday before long weekend) gave in a cheque and went on my merry way. Then on (29-4-11) I received a letter from the revenue sheriff demanding payment and €550 of tax and fees on top...!!! Rang them and explained.... THEY WERE EXTREMELY IGNORANT..... rang me back and said the revenue didnt receive money till 29-4-11.... How do I prove I paid and how do I deal with the Sheriff.!!!

I am livid, trying to create employment and keep getting kicked in the balls.

P.S: checked my cheque stub and its dated 20-4-11.

28064212

dragonbet wrote: »

So I get a Final Demand letter about 3 weeks ago sayin I have 7days to pay, the next free chance I got, about 10days later

Highlighted the main points. You were late paying and got fined. What's the problem exactly? It's normally not a good idea to ignore final demands from people who have the power to impose fines

srsly78

You were too busy to pay your tax? I don't think that's a valid excuse

beeftotheheels

dragonbet wrote: »

Ok, so I owed the revenue approx. 6k since Dec 10 for unpaid V.A.T/PAYE. I made my returns but didnt send a cheque, the only reason I havent paid is that I have been extremely busy opening a new business, employing more people, not that the government care about that.!!

So I get a Final Demand letter about 3 weeks ago sayin I have 7days to pay, the next free chance I got, about 10days later, I went into my accountant (20-4-11 Wednesday before long weekend) gave in a cheque and went on my merry way. Then on (29-4-11) I received a letter from the revenue sheriff demanding payment and €550 of tax and fees on top...!!! Rang them and explained.... THEY WERE EXTREMELY IGNORANT..... rang me back and said the revenue didnt receive money till 29-4-11.... How do I prove I paid and how do I deal with the Sheriff.!!!

I am livid, trying to create employment and keep getting kicked in the balls.

P.S: checked my cheque stub and its dated 20-4-11.

First things first. This forum is not for offering tax advice so I'm not going to go there.

You seem to be suggesting in the above that you missed every payment date, including the 7 days given.

From the tone of your post it seems like you are blaming Revenue for your own shortcomings, well intentioned though they may be.

The best advice I can give is common sense. Take a deep breath and calm down. Phone Revenue admitting any mistakes you made (this appears from what you posted to be your fault not theirs) but explain why you missed the deadline i.e. you were trying to keep your business going, keep employment up etc in a tough economy and were working around the clock.

They may not have any wiggle room, in which case you need to go to your accountant or a tax advisor for advice on the law. They may have wiggle room and if you make a sympathetic case they may waive the penalties.

If your inspector has no discretion it may be worth asking if there is someone else (higher up) in Revenue with the power to waive the interest and penalties, in which case you can make your case to them.

But going in like a bull in a china shop is not going to get you anywhere. Your best bet for a speedy solution is to be polite (and apologetic if you did miss the deadlines) while making your sympathetic case.

Remember, the person in Revenue cannot tell if you missed deadlines because you couldn't be @r$ed, because you had cash flow difficulties, or because you were fighting to keep your business afloat until you tell them.

Good luck with it.

dragonbet

beeftotheheels wrote: »

First things first. This forum is not for offering tax advice so I'm not going to go there.

You seem to be suggesting in the above that you missed every payment date, including the 7 days given.

From the tone of your post it seems like you are blaming Revenue for your own shortcomings, well intentioned though they may be.

The best advice I can give is common sense. Take a deep breath and calm down. Phone Revenue admitting any mistakes you made (this appears from what you posted to be your fault not theirs) but explain why you missed the deadline i.e. you were trying to keep your business going, keep employment up etc in a tough economy and were working around the clock.

They may not have any wiggle room, in which case you need to go to your accountant or a tax advisor for advice on the law. They may have wiggle room and if you make a sympathetic case they may waive the penalties.

If your inspector has no discretion it may be worth asking if there is someone else (higher up) in Revenue with the power to waive the interest and penalties, in which case you can make your case to them.

But going in like a bull in a china shop is not going to get you anywhere. Your best bet for a speedy solution is to be polite (and apologetic if you did miss the deadlines) while making your sympathetic case.

Remember, the person in Revenue cannot tell if you missed deadlines because you couldn't be @r$ed, because you had cash flow difficulties, or because you were fighting to keep your business afloat until you tell them.

Good luck with it.

Cheers, first things first, I know the whole 7 days / 10 days thing but when your working 15hrs a day, six days a week and you've flights booked to England to buy machinery and you've deadlines to meet with products and you've commitments to customers you push some things out.

Now, dont get me wrong, this was not a cash flow issue, the money was actually in an account and I had been pushing back a few bills until I got clearance for a bank loan. i.e. I wanted to leave as much money in my business account to help my cash position for getting a business loan. But if I owed you money, you send me a statement and I usually file it, then another and I file it, then you ring me some evening and I say, "ya I have that bill ere, call over to the house this evening and I'll fix up with ya", its just a country way of dealing with bills. In fairness I havent one single bad debt and would never see a creditor genuinely stuck for money.

It just infuriates me how the revenue can add interest and dictate the whole situation without one, writing to my accountant, who actually does the returns or ringing me to see what the real story was.


Just to clarify I opened the 7 day warning letter about four or five days after it was sent out and went to see my accountant four or five days later, so it had been 10days between being issued and dealing with it. But this is irrelevant..... would just think they'd send ya a registered letter before they apply €350 of sheriff fees and €200 of interest onto the payment.

beeftotheheels

dragonbet wrote: »

Cheers, first things first, I know the whole 7 days / 10 days thing but when your working 15hrs a day, six days a week and you've flights booked to England to buy machinery and you've deadlines to meet with products and you've commitments to customers you push some things out.

Now, dont get me wrong, this was not a cash flow issue, the money was actually in an account and I had been pushing back a few bills until I got clearance for a bank loan. i.e. I wanted to leave as much money in my business account to help my cash position for getting a business loan. But if I owed you money, you send me a statement and I usually file it, then another and I file it, then you ring me some evening and I say, "ya I have that bill ere, call over to the house this evening and I'll fix up with ya", its just a country way of dealing with bills. In fairness I havent one single bad debt and would never see a creditor genuinely stuck for money.

It just infuriates me how the revenue can add interest and dictate the whole situation without one, writing to my accountant, who actually does the returns or ringing me to see what the real story was.


Just to clarify I opened the 7 day warning letter about four or five days after it was sent out and went to see my accountant four or five days later, so it had been 10days between being issued and dealing with it. But this is irrelevant..... would just think they'd send ya a registered letter before they apply €350 of sheriff fees and €200 of interest onto the payment.

Alas Revenue have the rules which they have to comply with, and in order for the tax system to be fair they have to apply the rules equally to all taxpayers. They can't be expected to chase every taxpayer umpteen times in order to collect payments due to them under the law.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/business/running/tax-payment-difficulties.html

The above link sets out their position in relation to businesses with cash flow difficulties.

There's still no harm in trying a call to apologize and set out your facts as you did in the recent post.

If that fails then talk to your accountant about the particular tax law being applied to find out if you have any other recourse.

The other thing which might be worth considering, even if you end up paying the €550 is actually trying to catch up with your tax inspector to develop a personal relationship with him/ her. Not suggesting you hand over a bottle of whiskey or anything like that, just that you catch up, check with them anything you are unclear of, and keep an open channel of communication with them.

It might pre-empt such issues arising in future, it might also minimize any distractions caused by tax audits etc if your inspector appreciates that you are trying to be compliant, and that any non-compliance is due to genuine errors rather than an attempt to pull a fast one on your part.

From my experience most people who work in Revenue are genuinely sympathetic and would much rather spend a little time helping taxpayers comply with the law, than chasing up, penalizing and charging interest after the event.

234

Just to get this straight:

1. You knew you owed the Revenue Commissioners money but you didn't pay.
2. You received a Final Demand leter but still didn't pay.
3. You eventually went to your accountant and got him to pay.
4. You knew this was outside the deadline and you are surprised when they charge 3% interest.
5. You had the money all along and your excuse it that this just isn't your way of dealing with things.

Now you are complaining here about something that is entirely your fault?

beeftotheheels

234 wrote: »

Just to get this straight:

1. You knew you owed the Revenue Commissioners money but you didn't pay.
2. You received a Final Demand leter but still didn't pay.
3. You eventually went to your accountant and got him to pay.
4. You knew this was outside the deadline and you are surprised when they charge 3% interest.
5. You had the money all along and your excuse it that this just isn't your way of dealing with things.

Now you are complaining here about something that is entirely your fault?

To be fair to the OP it does sound like he was running himself into the ground with his business, which is no excuse, but is not something we should be beating him over the head with in the current economy!

He told us he made mistakes, he had a rant, and I hope it made him feel better. He is now in the unenviable position of thinking that an organ of government is trying to frustrate him running a business.

So we respond and give him some perspective - Revenue are generally very nice if you talk to them and keep them in the loop, but they have to comply with the law, and they have to treat all taxpayers equally.

Hopefully even if he pays the €550, he'll take my advice and open communication with Revenue going forward and discover that they will try and support him within the confines of the laws they are bound by.

People keep ranting about red tape stiffing small businesses, and you can see how that impression gets around.

Surely it is beholden to those of us who understand specific areas of red tape to try and support small business owners in the current economy, even by just allowing them rant and offering them an ear?

seamus

dragonbet wrote: »

But if I owed you money, you send me a statement and I usually file it, then another and I file it, then you ring me some evening and I say, "ya I have that bill ere, call over to the house this evening and I'll fix up with ya", its just a country way of dealing with bills. In fairness I havent one single bad debt and would never see a creditor genuinely stuck for money.

You don't pay your creditors when they ask for money. Therefore you are leaving them stuck for money. Instead you sit on their bills until they have to ring you and then tell them to call over for it. It's not a "country" way of doing things, it's a chancer's way of doing things.
You're exactly the kind of client I would ditch after being shown that level of disrespect.

Too busy to pay revenue? Nonsense. It takes five minutes to write a cheque and pop it in the post to your accountant. You could have done that while sitting in the airport waiting for one of your many flights since last December.

Revenue have been more than reasonable with you. Pay the fines and learn your lesson.

Our man in Havana

The taxman is one person you don't mess around.

jakdelad

dragonbet wrote: »

Ok, so I owed the revenue approx. 6k since Dec 10 for unpaid V.A.T/PAYE. I made my returns but didnt send a cheque, the only reason I havent paid is that I have been extremely busy opening a new business, employing more people, not that the government care about that.!!

So I get a Final Demand letter about 3 weeks ago sayin I have 7days to pay, the next free chance I got, about 10days later, I went into my accountant (20-4-11 Wednesday before long weekend) gave in a cheque and went on my merry way. Then on (29-4-11) I received a letter from the revenue sheriff demanding payment and €550 of tax and fees on top...!!! Rang them and explained.... THEY WERE EXTREMELY IGNORANT..... rang me back and said the revenue didnt receive money till 29-4-11.... How do I prove I paid and how do I deal with the Sheriff.!!!
I am livid, trying to create employment and keep getting kicked in the balls.

P.S: checked my cheque stub and its dated 20-4-11.

move your business to the north or uk where you might be appreciated.......
you will not get any help or a chance here mate
faceless people who care not in the slightest about you or your business........

Why won't sharks attack tax inspectors? Professional courtesy

dvpower

dragonbet wrote: »

I am livid, trying to create employment and keep getting kicked in the balls.

Will you be paying your staff on time?

32minutes

dragonbet wrote: »

Ok, so I owed the revenue approx. 6k since Dec 10 for unpaid V.A.T/PAYE. I made my returns but didnt send a cheque, the only reason I havent paid is that I have been extremely busy opening a new business, employing more people, not that the government care about that.!!

So I get a Final Demand letter about 3 weeks ago sayin I have 7days to pay, the next free chance I got, about 10days later, I went into my accountant (20-4-11 Wednesday before long weekend) gave in a cheque and went on my merry way. Then on (29-4-11) I received a letter from the revenue sheriff demanding payment and €550 of tax and fees on top...!!! Rang them and explained.... THEY WERE EXTREMELY IGNORANT..... rang me back and said the revenue didnt receive money till 29-4-11.... How do I prove I paid and how do I deal with the Sheriff.!!!

I am livid, trying to create employment and keep getting kicked in the balls.

P.S: checked my cheque stub and its dated 20-4-11.

Firstly I would hope we all have a great appreciation of small business owners in this country, there couldnt be a harder time to run a business anywhere, possibly ever.

The date on the stub of a cheque is completely irrelevant also.

But if we're saying that small business owners which make a significant contribution to getting the country out of this mess (and I am) then paying taxes on time would be pretty important. You can see that the delay in the payment of invoices is an outdated notion in this country and has a lot of OTHER small business owners crippled waiting for payment.

Paying your 2010 tax bill in Easter 2011 and then expecting the tax man to give you a pat on the back is being overly naive. The Revenue commissioners of Ireland is not a "Country Organisation" and as such your probably best off delaying payments to others to artificially inflate your bank balance.

Paying your taxes IS a part of your business not an inconvenience, they shouldnt have been rude to you but don't forget they also have to deal with some serious messers (see http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0307/stokes-business.html) plus it mighten't seem like it but the revenue is a business too and they are so broke it's unbelievable, your leaving them stuck for money...

Being too busy had nothing to do with you not paying your bill, lets firstly admit that because it would take less time to write a cheque than it would to buy a stamp, envelope, post it or sign it, it had to do with keeping the money in your a/c, Which isnt unreasonable, but it wasnt your money, you took from people for the service you provided, but it belongs to the tax man, always did. When you delay repaying people money they are due, this a form of credit, it's a loan, and the revenue commissioners loans are damn expensive. If every other business owner did this the country would fall apart without tax receipts. 550 is a fair bit but if you talk to them about it you might get a waiver, but definitely not a stunt to be repeated IMO.

Best of luck with the business

Carawaystick

"You can expect:

to be treated courteously, with consideration... in your dealings with Revenue."

jakdelad

Carawaystick wrote: »

"You can expect:

to be treated courteously, with consideration... in your dealings with Revenue."

EXPECT
verb
to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of: I expect to read it. I expect him later. She expects that they will come.

same as might, same as could be, be same as possible......

tell them when they are done with seanie and fingleton and all the other
crooks who owe millions and ruined this country
to come back for 500 euro then
you seem a decent person trying to make the effort........
but of course everyone here
always pays their tax bills on time and never late

MagicSean

jakdelad wrote: »

tell them when they are done with seanie and fingleton and all the other
crooks who owe millions and ruined this country
to come back for 500 euro then

Dont forget to tell them that there are rapists and murderers out there that they could be putting there resources to finding.

ebbsy

Pay the tax liability and ignore the sheriffs fees.

It may work, did for me.

alanacadia

anybody that is not self employed will never understand the commitment we actually make to keep others in employemnt

I was in this guys sitaution some years back had 10 people working for me was paying all paye etc, was working day and night 7 days a week, was behind sometime on my vat according to revenue ( thier interpertation of the vat rules) childrens footwear vat law they are zero rated & adults rated at 21% no problems revenue intrepertation is if the childrens footwear look like adults footwear the they were not specificily designed as childrens footwear so therefor they are liable to 21%vat a complete load of Boxxxxxs . they are either liable to vat or not its thier decision depending on thier mood anyway fought it over and over with them they claimed I owed them 95,000 pounds irish, define this a wellington boot black comes in childrens sizes and also adults vat law say no vat on childrens revenue law says they are liable on the basis of what I described above same applies to dancing pomps etc, how could anybody work under those rules.

Finally I get notice that sheriff etc will come within 21days to take stock etc to the value of thisd 95,000 pounds I go to accountant he tells me I can make arrangements to pay this or I can close the busines down, result I closed it down , as under thier system, I would have another big unwarranted bill each and every year,
end result 10 good loyal people out of work, I close the business down, revenue get nothing as we went into liquidation ,
now we have another 10 people claiming dole and all other benifits ect so there is a lot more behind revenue madness they should be thankful that we break our Balls trying to keep things moving where were revenue when the banks were robbing the contry blind.
to the origional writer I fully understand your dilemma, to revenue wake up and show respect for this mans hard working efforts, scop onto your yourself at least he paid the amount due , so give all hardworking people out there a fair chance to keep going in these hard times

ebbsy

The fees the Sheriff charge are totally disgusting, for doing nothing.

D'ont give him a red cent OP, just pay the tax due.

We can whinge about the Revenue till the cows come home but the fact remains that the one creditor above all others that should never EVER be ignored is the Revenue. They will give you the chances they give to everyone and if you don't cough up they will crucify you.

Also I had to laugh at "the country way to do things". That's just no excuse whatsoever.

greendom

jakdelad wrote: »

move your business to the north or uk where you might be appreciated.......
you will not get any help or a chance here mate
faceless people who care not in the slightest about you or your business........

Why won't sharks attack tax inspectors? Professional courtesy

I can't see the UK tax man treating late payment any differently

DublinWriter

dragonbet wrote: »

Ok, so I owed the revenue approx. 6k since Dec 10 for unpaid V.A.T/PAYE. I made my returns but didnt send a cheque, the only reason I havent paid is that I have been extremely busy opening a new business, employing more people, not that the government care about that.!!

Dude, if you're using VAT and PAYE money as cash-flow, then I doubt you'll be in business much longer.

All you've effectively done is put a great big flag against yourself with the Revenue Commissioners.

The rules for payment of VAT and PAYE/PRSI are pretty clear-cut. Why should you be the exception?

You really should know what's expected of you as a Company Director/Secretary/Sole Trader before embarking on any new business or at lest find yourself a competent Chartered/Certified Accountant.

jakdelad

k_mac wrote: »

Dont forget to tell them that there are rapists and murderers out there that they could be putting there resources to finding.

never heard rapists or murderers bankrupt a country
and still go grinning to the golf course everyday

we could do with navyseals team six here.
only it would take a little longer than 40 mins to deal with the scum

beeftotheheels

greendom wrote: »

I can't see the UK tax man treating late payment any differently

Revenue are a pussycat compared to HMRC!

beeftotheheels

alanacadia wrote: »

anybody that is not self employed will never understand the commitment we actually make to keep others in employemnt

I was in this guys sitaution some years back had 10 people working for me was paying all paye etc, was working day and night 7 days a week, was behind sometime on my vat according to revenue ( thier interpertation of the vat rules) childrens footwear vat law they are zero rated & adults rated at 21% no problems revenue intrepertation is if the childrens footwear look like adults footwear the they were not specificily designed as childrens footwear so therefor they are liable to 21%vat a complete load of Boxxxxxs . they are either liable to vat or not its thier decision depending on thier mood anyway fought it over and over with them they claimed I owed them 95,000 pounds irish, define this a wellington boot black comes in childrens sizes and also adults vat law say no vat on childrens revenue law says they are liable on the basis of what I described above same applies to dancing pomps etc, how could anybody work under those rules.

Finally I get notice that sheriff etc will come within 21days to take stock etc to the value of thisd 95,000 pounds I go to accountant he tells me I can make arrangements to pay this or I can close the busines down, result I closed it down , as under thier system, I would have another big unwarranted bill each and every year,
end result 10 good loyal people out of work, I close the business down, revenue get nothing as we went into liquidation ,
now we have another 10 people claiming dole and all other benifits ect so there is a lot more behind revenue madness they should be thankful that we break our Balls trying to keep things moving where were revenue when the banks were robbing the contry blind.
to the origional writer I fully understand your dilemma, to revenue wake up and show respect for this mans hard working efforts, scop onto your yourself at least he paid the amount due , so give all hardworking people out there a fair chance to keep going in these hard times

Were you aware that you were treating the shoes in a manner other than Revenue expected you to? If so, by charging the lower VAT rate you had a competitive advantage over your competitors who were applying the law as revenue expected them to.

If not, did you have a tax advisor or accountant? It was their job to tell you what Revenue expected of you.

If you genuinely believed that revenue's interpretation of the law was wrong why didn't you challenge it? The professions frequently disagree with Revenue's interpretation, this is why cases go to the Commissioners/ court.

While I have genuine sympathy for you, this sounds to me to be more of a case of having the wrong advisors rather than an example of Revenue doing something wrong. They applied the law as they understood it and you lost out.

They can't go around creating exceptions to rules, if they did no one would pay any tax.

DublinWriter

DublinWriter wrote: »

Dude, if you're using VAT and PAYE money as cash-flow, then I doubt you'll be in business much longer.

All you've effectively done is put a great big flag against yourself with the Revenue Commissioners.

The rules for payment of VAT and PAYE/PRSI are pretty clear-cut. Why should you be the exception?

You really should know what's expected of you as a Company Director/Secretary/Sole Trader before embarking on any new business or at lest find yourself a competent Chartered/Certified Accountant.

Just in a broad legal perspective using PAYE/PRSI payments that should be going to the Revenue to fund your cash flow could lead to the directors being made personally liable for the debts of the company pursuant to s.297A of the Companies Act 1963 (as amended). It's a rare enough order but it is possible. In Re Aluminium Fabricators Ltd (13 May, 1983. Unreported) that was one of the major factors that lead to such an order.

Also you could be disqualified from acting as a director for any company. Just choosing to brush the Revenue off is really not an option at all.

Kinetic^

Deleted User wrote: »

We can whinge about the Revenue till the cows come home but the fact remains that the one creditor above all others that should never EVER be ignored is the Revenue.

This! They should be the first to be paid every time, even before you pay yourself.

jakdelad

beeftotheheels wrote: »

Were you aware that you were treating the shoes in a manner other than Revenue expected you to? If so, by charging the lower VAT rate you had a competitive advantage over your competitors who were applying the law as revenue expected them to.

If not, did you have a tax advisor or accountant? It was their job to tell you what Revenue expected of you.

If you genuinely believed that revenue's interpretation of the law was wrong why didn't you challenge it? The professions frequently disagree with Revenue's interpretation, this is why cases go to the Commissioners/ court.

While I have genuine sympathy for you, this sounds to me to be more of a case of having the wrong advisors rather than an example of Revenue doing something wrong. They applied the law as they understood it and you lost out.

They can't go around creating exceptions to rules, if they did no one would pay any tax.

you mean like our celeb millionaires who dont pay any tax, the cinderella gang, and swan around golf & race courses and pay fuk all
while the poster here gets screwed for 500 euro while trying to run a business & employ people........
wouldent mind having one of those exceptions alright

MagicSean

jakdelad wrote: »

you mean like our celeb millionaires who dont pay any tax, the cinderella gang, and swan around golf & race courses and pay fuk all
while the poster here gets screwed for 500 euro while trying to run a business & employ people........
wouldent mind having one of those exceptions alright

So at what stage should justice kick in? How much tax evasion should people be allowed to engage in before the revenue should do something?

beeftotheheels

jakdelad wrote: »

you mean like our celeb millionaires who dont pay any tax, the cinderella gang, and swan around golf & race courses and pay fuk all
while the poster here gets screwed for 500 euro while trying to run a business & employ people........
wouldent mind having one of those exceptions alright

There are rules, and where there are rules there are loopholes. Once Revenue identify the loopholes they close them e.g. the Cinderella rule is now gone.

In fact Revenue have gone further and tried to force advisors to draw their attention to loopholes so they can close them before too many taxpayers exploit them.

Revenue do not make exceptions for the individuals you are complaining about, the advisors to these individuals identify the loopholes and their clients exploit them.

You are comparing apples with pears.

jakdelad

beeftotheheels wrote: »

There are rules, and where there are rules there are loopholes. Once Revenue identify the loopholes they close them e.g. the Cinderella rule is now gone.

In fact Revenue have gone further and tried to force advisors to draw their attention to loopholes so they can close them before too many taxpayers exploit them.

Revenue do not make exceptions for the individuals you are complaining about, the advisors to these individuals identify the loopholes and their clients exploit them.

You are comparing apples with pears.

oh right, loopholes..
advisors get their attention drawn but the ordinary pear who
owes 500 euro gets the sherrif calling
ah yes the old loophole.
works well for the barbados crowd
as orwell said some are more equal than others

Shelflife

A few points,

as was said earlier, revenue should always be paid in full and on time.

creditors should be paid in full and on time its only fair,

if you have problems, ring revenue and tell them, im selfemployed, a number of years ago my son was sick and we were all over the place trying to sort him out and keep our business going, we fell behing=d in our paperwork.

I rang revenue told them the story and said all will be paid, but we are up the walls a the moment, they advised me to try and sort out our paperwork as soon as possible but that they would give us as much leeway as possible.

keeping them in the loop helps you, otherwise they just think that you are messing them around.

DublinWriter

I think the worst point in this saga is that you hadn't paid your employees' PRSI and PAYE for quite some time.

Fred Cohen

I admire and commend your commitment to your new enterprise, your employees and indeed to the future of this nation.

I know how hectic it is starting a new business, you have to be everywhere, pick up the slack where ever it occurs, come up with with with all the solutions, inspire everyone, get the work in and the product out and listen to everyone's petty bitches and not explode. And to top it all off some idiot decides to throw this bull$hit into the mix.

Just a couple points

PAYE/PRSI/VAT is not your tax liability, it's other people tax liability, who's money you have collected on behalf of Revenue.

You don't seem to have a problem paying interest to the bank but object to paying interest to your creditors/Revenue, even though they are giving you a short term loan.

Putting off your creditors is not going inspire confidence or loyality.

If your employee's need to claim Social Welfare and they discover their stamps aren't on record. they will not be happy.

If your business plan is based on inflated figures, think what you will do if the bank calls in your loan?

AFAIK the sheriff has nothing to do with the Revenue but is a Solicitor and will demand his fees no matter what.

On the whole I would chalk €550 down as a very cheap lesson, if you learn to

a) not to put yourself under so much pressure
b) deal with correspondence as it comes in.
c) not treat Revenue or any other institution as someone that can be fobbed off
d) delegate, let your accountant deal with the taxes, let your salesmen get the work in and your foreman get the work out and you keep an eye on them all.

Anyhow, best of luck with your business and I believe that it's people like you that will save this country.

RATM

beeftotheheels wrote: »

Revenue are a pussycat compared to HMRC!

And HMRC are pussycats compared to the IRS in the US- I believe they have more powers than the FBI and its not uncommon for them to hand out 15-20 year sentences for things that might be considered less serious here. Americans fear the IRS more than any other state institution AFAIK