THE REVENUE Commissioners has said it believes Government departments and public bodies have been involved in “a number of instances” of “offensive tax avoidance and or abuse”, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Acts.

The documents, which did not detail cases, said the instances had “directly or indirectly” come to the attention of Revenue and were considered a breach of tax codes. “Where such activities come to Revenue’s attention we will challenge them by reference to the law,” the documents said.

Released by the Department of Health to The Irish Times, the documents were issued to departments when concerns were raised in the Dáil about the tax compliance of consultants hired by ministers on special contracts through consultancy companies.

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