The Revenue Commissioners has announced a two-week extension to the payment deadline for those availing of voluntary disclosure of offshore assets and accounts.
The original payment deadline was next Friday, 28 May. However, tax accountants and other interested parties requested more time to finalise the liabilities of their clients.
Revenue complied with the request and now full payment of all offshore tax liabilities has to be made by Thursday 10 June.
This new deadline is available to all people who contacted Revenue before 29 March to declare that they had a tax liability related to a previously undisclosed account or investment outside of the State.
The Revenue Commissioners said it is being made clear to tax practitioners that no further extensions of the deadline will be considered.
It has also pointed out that failure to meet the deadline may lead to increased penalties, publication in the tax defaulters list and prosecution for tax evasion.
Two months ago, Revenue estimated that as many as 15,000 people had opted to come clean about offshore assets and accounts in advance of a widespread Revenue Investigation into such funds.
Revenue Chairman Frank Daly said he expected the typical tax settlement to be larger than those paid over by the holders of bogus non-resident accounts.
It is estimated that the total amount likely to be collected by Revenue on foot of this clampdown could be as high as €1bn.
The request for an extension to the payment deadline from tax practitioners is indicative of a heavy volume of work.
This will further fuel speculation that the Exchequer is in for a very significant cash windfall when the money from these voluntary tax settlements comes in.
