2003 Tax Liability
I have a similar case as of today. I recently applied for a Tax Clearance Cert for my father as we are applying for a grant to carry out essential renovations after he recently suffered a stroke. Today a letter arrived saying that he owed tax for the period of 2003 and until this has been paid the Cert can not be issued. I understand this decision but I can not understand how this could have happened. We have been using an accountant for the past number of years but now I am wondering was this a time when he did not have an accountant and may not have completed an annual tax return for 2003. Every year PAYE employees retire and may never have had to pay an accountant during their working lives. If they now have other sources of income from one or possibly two private pension schemes, should they be employing an accountant to complete annual income tax returns, if they now have a total income of say, €25,000? Am I right in saying that the state pension (for a private sector workers) is paid out, exempt of tax and that pensioners who are in receipt of a second private pension may have to do annual tax returns, to pay tax on their state pension? If this is the case, it seems very unfair as I am sure many older pensioners may not be aware of this and could possibly be landed with substantial tax liabilities should they ever have to apply for a Tax Clearance Certificate.