ATO working on deal for rich to come clean

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is considering an amnesty for rich people to come clean on income or assets they previously hid offshore.

Such a scheme would recoup billions of dollars at a time when tax receipts are in decline and the federal budget is deteriorating.

Tax commissioner Chris Jordan last year announced the ATO was strongly considering an "offshore disclosure initiative".

"We are currently working through the detail of such an initiative," an ATO spokesperson told AAP on Monday.

"We will announce the initiative once it has been signed off."

Like earlier amnesties, taxpayers who make a full disclosure could avoid criminal investigation and prosecution provided they have not been deliberately fraudulent.

However, they may incur financial penalties.

The scheme is likely to be available for a limited time, possibly until the end of 2014.