The new, tougher penalties take effect from 1 October
2018 and HMRC’s advice is that
anyone with overseas assets needs to put their cards on
the table quickly or risk much bigger fines. As is
always the case, HMRC will
prosecute the most serious cases of tax evasion.
The Director General for Customer Strategy and Tax
Design at HMRC, David Richardson,
said:
Everyone has to pay their tax, and the vast majority
of people and businesses already do. It’s on their
behalf that we’re cracking down on offshore tax
cheats.
These new penalties are part of the government’s drive
to ensure there are no safe havens for taxpayers that
seek to evade paying tax. HMRC already holds
a vast amount of data on offshore assets, and this is
growing all the time.
The majority of taxpayers with offshore assets already
disclose them in line with UK law so have nothing to
worry about, but time is running out for the minority
of tax dodgers.
The government recognises that some people may not
realise that they must declare their overseas income
to HMRC if, for
example, they have worked overseas or are receiving
income from a rental property outside the UK.
People with overseas income who aren’t sure they’ve
paid the correct tax are urged to check HMRC’s
guidance and contact HMRC, if necessary,
before the new, tougher penalties take effect.
HMRC has recently
published a consultation on
the implementation of a new minimum time limit of 12
years, announced at the Autumn Budget 2017,
for HMRC to assess
offshore tax.
