Portugal's Visão magazine has gained access to a Tax Authority audit report which has confirmed the creation of a warning system to prevent unauthorised access to the tax data of a limited number of special taxpayers including politicians, businessmen and sports personalities - the 'VIP List.'
The magazine revealed today that the report confirmed the creation of the VIP List whose members have been protected by a warning system if their tax data is accessed by tax office staff.
The document, dated November 28, 2014, showed that the former deputy director of taxation José Maria Pires, who resigned last week, sanctioned the VIP List proposal and the warning alert scheme within the tax department’s computer system under the direction of José Manuel Morujão.
The computer security field "set alerts to be triggered in the event of consultation or verification of data change to certain taxpayers files which, in the absence of better name, are called ‘VIP.’
Acacio Pinto, the director of audit at the Tax Authority gave a positive opinion to the various proposals, including the creation of a controlled access system for a restricted number of special taxpayers.
The favorable order for these measures was signed by António Brigas Afonso who also has resigned from his post at the tax office, adding in writing that he viewed the suggestion that a VIP list existed, as ‘concerning.’
Visão points out that no names are suggested for inclusion in the VIP list, and it remains to be seen who is on the list now and who has been on the list and since dropped.
Suspicion that this list existed arose after the tax records of the Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, were leaked. An audit was established by António Brigas Afonso on the same day that the prime minister was shown not to have paid his social security dues when he was contracted to Tecnoforma.
Those responsible for the audit found that, between January 1st and September 26th last year, the prime minister’s tax records were accessed 106 times by 34 employees around the country.
As a result, 23 of the workers concerned were hauled in front of upper management in a disciplinary proicedure to explain why they had looked at the PM’s tax affairs.
Last week, the director of taxes António Brigas Afonso and the deputy director José Maria Pires both resigned, and the Secretary of State for Fiscal Affairs, Paul Nuncio (pictured) and the president of the Tax Workers Union Paulo Ralha gave evidence to parliament.
Nuncio has been under pressure from the opposition to resign but Passos Coelho would not sanction the move. In the parliamentary committee inquiry, Nuncio reaffirmed that the VIP list did not exist and he claimed that he too wanted “complete clarification" about the case.
"I intend that the investigation is comprehensive, thorough and detailed so that you can have a complete clarification of the situation and so that people know what happened," said Nuncio.
Ralha wants Nuncio to go as he knew of the list's existence all along, or if he did not he should have done - both grounds for his resignation.
José Maria Pires was heard on the same day and stressed the importance of having security measures to ensure 'respect for the right to tax secrecy,' fogetting for a moment perhaps the state's publication of a list of debtors for all to view.
The government is waiting for the outcome of the investigation requested by Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque with input from Paul Nuncio and the auditors, after which 'conclusions will be drawn.'
Newspaper Expresso today questioned whether tax data enquiries about certain taxpayers have been out of mere curiosity or whether there is any question of a black market for buying and selling any such sensitive information.
