The figure, revealed by Skandia, comes on the same day as HMRC’s declaration that offshore evasion will become a strict liability offence, meaning any prosecution will only need to demonstrate that a person failed to correctly declare the offshore income or gains, and not that they did so with the intention of defrauding the Exchequer.
It also issued a subsequent consultation paper, outlining proposals to make the penalty for evading UK tax in a non-disclosure jurisdiction 100% higher than if it was in a disclosure jurisdiction.
Skandia said that investors need to “think carefully” about “short-sightedly” moving money to offshore jurisdictions, given that they could now face serious criminal implications for doing so, regardless of whether they actually intend to avoid tax.
It added that, with professional advice, assets can be restructured through the use of products, such as offshore bonds, to make them more tax efficient.
Head of technical marketing, Rachael Griffin, said investors with undisclosed overseas asset cannot afford to “stick their head in the sand” because HMRC is determined to tackle overseas tax evasion, regardless of whether there is any intent to avoid tax.
“Moving overseas assets to non-disclosure jurisdictions just delays the inevitable, and investors need to think carefully about their actions,” she added. “Taking the bull by the horns and disclosing assets doesn’t have to be that painful.
“With professional advice, investors can still make their assets efficient from a tax and reporting perspective.”
