I propose to take Questions Nos. 249 to 251, inclusive, together.
Responsibility for the administration of the various tax clearance schemes is assigned in legislation to the Revenue Commissioners. I am advised by Revenue that a tax clearance certificate will normally be issued to a person whose tax affairs are up to date. This means that at the time of the application, the person:
has made all of the required tax returns to Revenue and
has paid all tax known to be due or agreed a payment schedule in respect of such tax debts.
Where an applicant for tax clearance does not meet the criteria mentioned, a formal notification of refusal is issued by Revenue. This notification sets out the basis for refusal of the application, and this refusal can be appealed to the Appeal Commissioners in the normal way.
In other words, an applicant applies and the certificate is either granted or refused.
In relation to tax clearance for holders of public office, the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 provides for the request for, and issue of, an Application Statement where a person has applied for a tax clearance certificate to the Collector-General of the Revenue Commissioners and
no decision has been taken on the application by the Collector-General, or
the Collector-General has refused to issue a certificate but the refusal is the subject of an appeal yet to be determined.
In these circumstances, in accordance with the Standards in Public Office Act 2001, the Collector-General will, on request, provide an Application Statement to the applicant confirming that the person has applied for a tax clearance certificate and that no decision on the application has been made.
The Deputy will be aware that where a person provides an Application Statement to the Standards in Public Office Commission, the person is deemed not to be in breach of the requirement to produce a tax clearance certificate under the Standards in Public Office Act. This position continues to apply until such time as a decision is made on the application for a certificate or on the appeal against a refusal, as the case may be.