5,000 people have so far indicated that they will make voluntary disclosures to the Revenue about tax due on offshore accounts and assets.
So far €184m has been collected in the clampdown. Revenue chairman Frank Daly said it was reasonable to assume that the investigation was on target to reach €1 billion.
He also told the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee that he would not be changing the deadline for voluntary disclosure on account of the postal strike. People with offshore tax liabilities have been given until next Monday to opt for voluntary disclosure before a formal Revenue investigation begins.
Mr Daly told the committee that up until yesterday 3,500 people had made voluntary disclosures about offshore accounts and investments ahead of next Monday's deadline. So far they have paid over a total of €184m in taxes, interest and penalties.
But he said that despite the postal strike, another 1,500 people had made additional voluntary disclosures over the past 24 hours. This brings the total to 5,000 declarations to date. He said he expected, if not an avalanche, then a very high number of new declarations between now and next Monday.
The Revenue chairman said he was very encouraged with the public response so far to the clampdown on offshore accounts and that people appeared to be taking it seriously.
Mr Daly also said that Revenue was not of a mind to change the deadline for voluntary disclosure for offshore investors on account of the postal dispute. He told the committee people could fax their declaration forms to the Revenue office, or drop them into any Revenue office around the country.
He also said that Revenue would be pragmatic and will accept any declaration forms that arrived with postmarks dated before March 29.
