€53.7m tax paid in disclosure scheme

THE REVENUE Commissioners received €53.7 million in unpaid taxes as part of its latest voluntary disclosure scheme.

THE REVENUE Commissioners received €53.7 million in unpaid taxes as part of its latest voluntary disclosure scheme.

The taxes were recovered from 932 out of the total of 1,600 bank customers who had identified themselves to the Revenue as part of the scheme.

The tally is expected to rise as the Revenue collates information on payments submitted to its network of local offices, a spokesman said yesterday.

Bank customers who had more than €100,000 in bank accounts at any time between 2005 and 2007, and which may have been undeclared, were given a four-month amnesty last year.

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Anyone availing of the voluntary disclosure scheme would have had their penalty reduced, would not be named in the tax defaulters’ list and would not be prosecuted.

Persons who have not come forward will not in the future be able to claim voluntary disclosure.

The scheme was launched to coincide with the receipt of information arising from new laws that compel banks and other financial institutions to hand over information on individual deposit accounts.

Some 1,800 people came forward by the September 15th deadline, but 200 of these later withdrew after claiming their money was not liable for tax.

The remaining 1,600 customers had until midnight on Thursday to settle their tax bill.

Colm Keena

Colm Keena

Colm Keena is an Irish Times journalist. He was previously legal-affairs correspondent and public-affairs correspondent