Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Section 74 provides for the ending of the current regime for the publication of the list of tax defaulters.

A new publication regime, set out in section 75, will replace the current regime in the context of any fines or other penalties imposed or determined by a court on or after 1 January 2022 or settlements which the Revenue Commissioners accept or undertake to accept on or after that date.

More broadly, since the introduction of this provision in section 1086 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, this has been an important power of the Revenue Commissioners. There have been 30 different amendments in this regard since that provision was introduced. This has resulted in the section being difficult to interpret and, at times, has caused confusion regarding whether certain tax defaulters should be published or not and what specific amounts should be published. This change has been requested on the advice of the Revenue Commissioners and further detail on this aspect is laid down in section 75.