A Midlands medical consultant who failed to declare income from private sources has been convicted of failing to make tax returns.
Dorothy Niall, a consultant at the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore was the subject of an investigation by Revenue’s Special Investigation Unit when discrepancies were noted in her returns.
When cross-referenced with returns made by private health insurers, it emerged that she had not declared her income from private health insurers or from private patients.
Inspector of Taxes, Fergus Dempsey, told Mullingar District Court yesterday [September 16] that the consultant orthopaedic surgeon had been interviewed by Revenue under caution and had been advised in advance that her affairs were being investigated.
Private health insurers are obliged to deduct 20 per cent Professional Services Withholding Tax from the payments they make to consultants and details of these tax deductions and the consultants they relate to are provided in returns to Revenue.
Ms Niall, who has an address at Cronanstown, Castletown Geoghegan in Westmeath had not declared that income. Mr Dempsey said that returns for the years between 2004 and 2007 inclusive have now been filed and all penalties have been paid.
Details of those penalties were not revealed in court, nor was the amount of undeclared income.
Ms Niall did not appear in court and was not legally represented. She has no previous convictions. Judge John Lindsay fined the consultant a total of €3,500 for the four offences, the minimum allowable for each year.
The total maximum amount she could have been fined is €14,000.
