The Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners have both received a rap on the knuckles after it emerged that they had overestimated the likely tax take for 2001. The discrepancies have been highlighted by the Comptroller and Auditor General, John Purcell, to the Dail Public Accounts Committee. During a meeting of the committee it has been revealed that the 2002 tax estimate was E1.03bn more than was finally achieved while the 2001 tax estimate of E30.46bn was E2.53bn more than the E27.92bn finally collected. The committee meeting were told by Department of Finance officials that the short-fall was related to a fall off in personal consumption, a decline in tourism spending and cross-Border spending.
When questioned about the E2.92bn shortfall in 2001, Tom Considine, the secretary general of the Department of Finance, noted that nearly E2bn was accounted for by lower than projected indirect taxes and income tax with the shortfall in the PAYE take amounting to E762m. A number of TDs who sit on the Public Accounts Committee expressed their shock with the significant discrepancies and the innacurate forecasting. ///www.fxcentre.com