Revenue extends offshore assets deadline

People with undeclared money in locations such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Andorra have been contacting the Revenue Commissioners regarding its offshore assets scheme, a spokesman said yesterday.

The Revenue yesterday announced a two-week extension for the making of settlements by people availing of the scheme. The original date for the submission of final computations and payments was next Friday, May 28th. It has now been put back to Thursday, June 10th.

The extension follows lobbying on behalf of tax practitioners, accountants and other parties who have said they need more time to finalise their clients' liabilities.

The Revenue said its current best estimate is that approximately 15,000 people are likely to avail of the scheme.

This compares with the 10,500 who made settlements in relation to bogus non-resident accounts. That issue netted approximately €500 million for the Revenue from customers and a further €220 million from the banks.

The inquiry into offshore assets has already yielded €150 million from customers of Bank of Ireland Trust Company, Jersey, and Irish Permanent in the Isle of Man. There has been speculation that the final haul could be as large as €1 billion.

A spokeswoman for the Revenue said a figure for the amount handed over as a result of the current scheme, should be available "a few days" after June 10th.

Revenue chairman Mr Frank Daly has said he expects that the average settlement from the offshore assets scheme will be larger than that from the bogus non-resident accounts holders.

The Revenue said there will be no further extensions to the offshore assets deadline.

"Failure to meet the deadline may lead to increased penalties, publication in the Tax Defaulters' list and prosecution for tax evasion."

The extension is available to people who contacted the Revenue before March 29th, 2004, to declare that they had a liability relating to a previously undisclosed account or investment outside the State.

A spokesman for the The Institute of Taxation in Ireland said one of the difficulties its members were having was trying to source precise information about clients' affairs.

"Many of these cases go back to the 1980s and the clients can be elderly and very often the information available is sketchy."

While the Revenue has said it will accept reasonable assumptions, the practitioners have to ensure they make as good an estimate as possible for what is a once-off, voluntary disclosure scheme.

The Revenue has said it will pursue those people who have undeclared assets abroad and who do not avail of the voluntary disclosure scheme. It is able to access information from the clearing banks here about money sent abroad to foreign bank accounts, or received here via the clearing houses from foreign banks.