14 03 2018

UK Tax Agency Tightening Net On Offshore Tax Evaders

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned UK taxpayers that the deadline for disclosing offshore assets before tougher penalties are introduced is approaching, and has announced new proposals to provide more time for it to investigate someone who has failed to declare the right amount of tax.

New, tougher penalties are to take effect from October 1, 2018. The Director General for Customer Strategy and Tax Design, David Richardson, said: "Everyone has to pay their tax and the vast majority of people and businesses already do. It's on their behalf that we are cracking down on offshore tax cheats." HMRC has warned that the heightened penalties may impact also those who have earned income overseas but were unaware that they must disclose such.

Meanwhile HMRC has recently published a consultation on the implementation of a new minimum time limit of 12 years, announced at the Autumn Budget 2017, for HMRC to assess offshore tax.