HMRC Has Offshore Tax Evaders In Their Sights | And they know all about you ... |
 POSTED BY HELEN BEAUMONT ON 31/08/2018 @ 8:00AM
Gone are the days when moving assets offshore was considered good tax planning. Public sentiment has swung so far against this practice, and HMRC is looking to squeeze every penny of tax due ...
If you have offshore assets then HMRC will find out about it! copyright: gioiak2 / 123rf stock photo
HMRC is constantly in dialogue with the Government of the day and over time, tax rules get tightened up and loopholes get closed. In the Finance Act 2018, new and highly complex provisions were brought in, so be very careful what you do offshore if you don't want to get hammered with penalties.
"New Targeted Anti Avoidance Rules directly affect offshore trusts!"
There are also new Profit Fragmentation rules coming into effect from 2019 for both Corporation Tax and Income Tax. If HMRC deems that 'value' has been transferred to an offshore entity and lower tax has been paid in that jurisdiction to save tax in the UK, then the full value of UK tax will become due. These provisions also introduce a reporting requirement for affected individuals and companies.
And don't forget that HMRC are receiving vast amounts of information under the Common Reporting Standards from other territories around the world, so they're going to know what your offshore assets are and will know if your UK tax returns are accurate.
To date, the UK government has legal agreements in place to exchange data with 102 territories. A total of 149 countries have agreed to the automatic exchange of information and new agreements with the remaining jurisdictions are being agreed all the time.
Agreements in place include the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, St Kitts and Nevis and Switzerland.
All this is underpinned by HMRC's Requirement to Correct obligation, which imposes extreme penalties on those with historical offshore non-compliance, even where advice has been sought.
Be warned, if you have potential UK liabilities that have been sheltered or hidden through offshore structures over the past 12 years, then HMRC will now be looking into it and have all the information they need thanks to the Common Reporting Standard.
"Would you like to know more?"
If you'd like to find out more about anything I'm written here, or are worried you may be in HMRC's sights, then do give me a call on 01908 774323 or click here to ping me an email and let's see how I can help you.
Until next time ...
HELEN BEAUMONT
More about Helen Beaumont ... |  | Helen brings the personal tax planning experience of the top 20 tax companies to Essendon. Formerly of MacIntyre Hudson (with 45 offices nationwide), Helen worked at Chancery for more than 10 years before joining Essendon as the personal tax specialist.
Tax Planning can make a considerable difference to your tax liability. Helen has specialist knowledge and experience in tax planning and uses every opportunity to minimise your tax bill is utilised. By analysing your investments, income, profit and expenditures, Helen will provide strategic tax planning expertise that could offer significant savings, whilst delivering clear, honest advice and guidance.
When Helen is not at Essendon she spends time with her young son and likes going on long walks with the family dog.
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