All those known by the Revenue Commissioners to have had undeclared money in the secretive Ansbacher deposits are to be publicly identified under provisions announced yesterday.
Changes to be introduced in the Finance Bill in April will mean that defaulters identified each quarter by the Revenue will also have the nature of their Revenue offence revealed.
Although some of the individuals who had undeclared funds in Ansbacher deposits are known to have made payments on account to the Revenue, it is believed that none is likely to have made final settlements. Their names will be published when they do.
The new rules apply to all settlements over £10,000 but exclude those where the 1993 tax amnesty applies.
Publishing the Finance Bill yesterday, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said banks would be charged full interest and penalties for DIRT evasion. These fines are likely to be "very, very substantial", he said.
Some technical changes have been made to ensure that the Revenue can complete a retrospective DIRT audit and recruit extra help from commercial auditors and accountancy firms. The Bill allows the Revenue to report on November 1st, 2000, to the Public Accounts Committee on the results of its "look back" exercise and for that report to be published.
Mr McCreevy said he would introduce additional legislation before the summer to allow the State to seize millions of pounds in dormant bank accounts.
The Finance Bill, which gives effect to the December Budget, also implements the £3,000 stay-at-home carers' allowance. This will benefit around 160,000 to 170,000 families where one partner earns less than £4,000 a year and looks after children, an elderly relative or a handicapped person. The legislation also implements controversial tax individualisation measures.