Press Room
Deadline approaching to declare offshore funds warns Grant
Thornton
Those with offshore accounts have only until 30 November 2009 to
inform HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of their intention to
disclose their tax affairs under the New Disclosure Opportunity
(NDO) or face a strict penalty and in some cases criminal
prosecution, warns leading business and financial adviser Grant
Thornton.
Over 300 banks and financial institutions have been asked to hand
over details of their customers’ offshore accounts to the tax
authorities. The notification period runs from 1 September
2009 to 30 November 2009 for paper disclosure registration to HMRC
and from 1 October 2009 to 30 November 2009 for online disclosure
registration.
Offshore account holders making disclosures under the NDO face a
fixed penalty of 10% of the tax owed if they are not customers of
the five* major retail banks targeted in the 2007 amnesty.
Those who failed to come forward under the 2007 Offshore Disclosure
Facility (ODF) will face a 20% fixed penalty. HMRC has said
penalties will be no less than 30% for those who fail to make
disclosures under the ODF or NDO.
Paul Roberts, Head of Tax Investigations at Grant Thornton says,
"This autumn's Pre-Budget Report is likely to further outline
HMRC's plans to clamp down hard on those who deliberately avoid
paying the correct amount of tax from undisclosed funds. In
some extreme cases, individuals could receive penalties of over 70
per cent of the tax due. HMRC is hardening their approach and we
are likely to see a number of high-profile criminal prosecutions to
act as a deterrent to those trying to avoid paying the correct
amount of tax."
"Grant Thornton has received quite a number of instructions under
the NDO but the market place generally has seen a relatively low
take up of the initiative. This could be a result of the
low-profile publicity that the initiative has been given or due to
taxpayers who are waiting for their information to be handed
over by the banks and financial institutions.
"Taxpayers who fear they have undisclosed liabilities have very
little time to inform HMRC of their intention to take advantage of
the terms set out in the NDO. Whatever the reasons for not
disclosing previously, with mounting pressure being placed on
offshore jurisdictions, potential disclosures are advised to come
forward sooner rather than later, and certainly before the end of
November," says Roberts.
After registration, the submission deadline for full paper
disclosures of any liability is 31 January 2010 and for online
disclosures it is 12 March 2010.
For further information on HMRC's NDO, Roberts advises those who
believe they may be affected to go to: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/offshoreaccounts/index.htm