Clampdown on welfare fraud in the taxi industry,

It would seem from top to bottom the Taxi industry is being accused of defrauding the state of much needed cash. Recently Taxi drivers in Irish cities are being required to surrender their PSV licenses after they sold their plate. Some drivers as in one case was found to be renting a plate for three years while claiming welfare from the state. Another driver who also is a property owner was audited and found to be seriously under declaring his tax. To add to this offices audited by revenue were found to be under-declaring the revenue they were receiving from radio holders.

Revenue and welfare have there hands full trying to keep an eye on a industry that deals in cash and as mobile as this industry. During the boom those charged with the care of Taxi drivers concerns were helping drivers who otherwise would never get a home loan, get mortgage's by dodgy accounting. Now those same drivers are facing ruin. We have driver representatives who are multiple plate owners, who also have dirty hands, allowing guys and girls on welfare to drive those very same taxis.

This Industry has a long history of deceit. In the past those charged with keeping it clean also had their hands in the cookie jar. PSV officers owning taxi. Garda renting plates and using dodgy taxi driver friends home addresses to hide their identity. There is a story from about 25 years ago of a elderly simple Taxi driver, that got too old and frail to continue to drive his taxi. He went to his local PSV officer for advice on if he could sell the plate. Advice given was, he was told he would have to give back his plate to the city corporation if he was no longer driving. The PSV officer being the gentleman he was, told the elderly man not to bother himself with the details, he would take care of it. That plate was handed over to another former Garda who was now a taxi driver and revenue is suspected to have been collected for the PSV officer.

Equally with Double jobbers. People with just the one job are now afraid to do overtime as this is being taxed at an incredible amount. Some people are losing almost 50% of their pay pack. Yet revenue believed a guy or girl is going to buy a taxi plate , renew it yearly and claim to revenue they simply work 9 hours a week to supplement their full time job, What a load of bollocks. We have a guy in Waterford driving a HGV for the city council and as soon as he finishes work is in his taxi. This greedy pet still places lives at risk. Its all wrong, but nobody seems willing to put it right.

It is a shit hole industry always was and always will be. Joining hands in prayer would be an impossible task for the majority of taxi drivers let alone joining together to demand a better industry.