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The Revenue Commissioners' tax demand for co-op patronage shares sent a shockwave through Kerry suppliers last November.
Two things quickly became obvious – firstly that huge sums of money were involved, and secondly that this must have implications for the broader co-op movement.
Two months on, numerous questions have remained unanswered. Why did patronage shares issued by Kerry Co-op for many years and regularly declared by farmers as capital assets suddenly get turned into taxable trading income in the eyes of the Revenue Commissioners? Who sanctioned this new approach? How are tax officials backing up their case to prepare for upcoming appeals? What is coming next?
Through a freedom of information request, the Irish Farmers Journal has pieced together the paper trail of the past year. While some questions remain, internal Revenue communications shed light on what tax officials have named the “Kerry Co-op project”.
Listen to a discussion of the Revenue's Kerry co-op project in our podcast below:
Listen to "Inside the Revenue's Kerry co-op project" on Spreaker.
3,500 Kerry suppliers to get tax bills this year
Only 128 share sales over seven years
The people at the centre of Kerry shares project
More than €400,000 in tax already recouped from Kerry Co-op shareholders
Kerry case leads to Revenue staff manual revision
Revenue knew Kerry suppliers were 'broke' as it sent tax claims
Revenue may target 2013 Kerry spin-out
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