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

The publication threshold is indeed €35,000. This threshold is considered low and is based on the combined amount of tax, interest and penalties. Under the current system, given that the interest charge for late penalties is 8% or 10% per year, depending on the tax type, a recent tax underpayment might escape publication because the interest rate charge was relatively low, whereas an underpayment of the same amount from a few years ago might be publishable because of a higher interest liability. It is considered that the publication threshold should be determined based on the tax amount only, as this focuses on the under-declared tax liability. A case is only published where the penalty is 15% or more and the taxpayer has not made a qualifying disclosure. When considered in tandem with those provisions, increasing the threshold to €50,000 focuses the publication process on defaulters and their behaviour and will not dilute the deterrent effect of publication.

Increasing the threshold to €50,000, and confining this to tax only, will reduce the number of cases published and represent a more significant level of default that justifies publication, and thereby shall bring a greater focus on those taxpayers who are published. This may act as a deterrent for those taxpayers who want to protect their good name, thereby achieving the objective of publication. This change also potentially incentivises the disclosure regime even further. The original publication threshold when the regime was introduced in 1983 was £10,000 punts. That was subsequently increased to €30,000 in 2015 and then to €35,000 in 2016.