In HMRC’s sights
HSBC Jersey customers attracted the attention of HMRC three years ago after the Daily Telegraph received details of 4,000 UK customers said to include those accused of fraud, drug dealing, and serious criminal activity.
In March 2015, the bank stepped up its scrutiny of onshore account holders in Jersey, sending letters to account holders living in the UK asking them to prove their link with the island.
Clients with the bank’s Expat Account, however, were not affected.
The HDF isn’t the only disclosure facility coming to a close on 31 December 2015, with the Liechtenstein facility’s closure date also having been brought forward from April 2016.
Gloves are off
As part of his Autumn Statement, chancellor George Osborne announced a new penalty of 60% on tax due in all cases successfully tackled by the General Anti Abuse Rules (GAAR).
One of the new measures to be included in the Finance Bill 2016 is a new criminal offence removing the need to prove intent for the most serious cases of failing to declare offshore income and gains.
There will also be civil penalties for deliberate offshore tax evasion, with penalties introduced for those who enable offshore tax evasion.
Osborne committed to raising £5bn ($7.6bn, €6.9bn) a year through tackling tax avoidance, aggressive tax planning, evasion, non-compliance, and imbalances in the tax system.
HMRC has signalled that, once the clock strikes midnight on the 31 December 2015, the gloves are coming off and those with undeclared offshore assets will have very few places left to hide.
