22 farmers have been named on the tax defaulters list for the first quarter (Q1) of 2019.

The list was published yesterday, Tuesday, June 11, and shows that, of these 22 farmers, 13 were penalised for failing to lodge tax returns, eight were fined for the misuse of marked mineral oil, while one substantial fine of €108,423.77 was handed out in Co. Clare relating to the under-or-non-declaration of tax.

The amount of farmers on the list is in line with the most recent list for quarter 4 (Q4) of 2018, when 23 farmers were found to have been in violation of tax rules.

Under-or-non-declaration of tax

There was only one farmer listed in this category, but it saw the largest financial penalty handed out to a any farmer.

Failure to lodge tax returns

The majority of farmers on the list were penalised for failing to lodge tax returns. 13 farmers were named in this category.

Notably, while the total amount of farmers on the list for this quarter is down by one on Q4 for 2018, the number of farmers who failed to lodge returns has decreased by six – down from 19.

The total amount of fines handed out to farmers in this category was €20,750.

Misuse of marked mineral oil

The remaining eight farmers were handed fines for the misuse of marked mineral oil:

The fines in this category totaled €22,000.

When the the larger fine handed out in Co. Clare is discounted, the combined penalty handed out to the remaining 21 farmers stood at €42,750.

Quarter 1 refers to the first three months of the year. It covers the period January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019.