Deterrent
MPs urged HMRC to use prosecution as a deterrent, suggesting disclosure facilities – which reduce penalties for people who come forward early to provide information on assets held offshore – were inadequate as a preventative.
“By 2017, HMRC will receive tax data from 94 countries and will be able to detect evaders more easily, so these disclosure facilities will no longer be necessary.”
Unacceptable
MPs also slammed the body’s customer service, calling it unacceptable: “We are particularly disappointed by HMRC’s failure in this area given that people are more likely to pay the right tax when they find HMRC easy to deal with.”
Rachael Griffin, financial planning expert at Old Mutual Wealth said: “Although the Public Accounts Committee report accuses HMRC of not taking enough action against tax evaders, people should not interpret this as a reason not to disclosure their overseas assets.
“The approach taken by HMRC is going to get tougher and with the introduction of the common reporting standards between more than 90 countries, tax evaders will be easier to identify.
“There really will be nowhere left to hide, so people need to focus on legitimising their assets while they can.”
