Offshore Bank Accounts

In April 2007 HMRC announced that investors with offshore accounts were able to disclose income and gains not previously included in their tax returns with only a 10% fixed penalty being imposed. This followed a ruling against a number of financial institutions which allowed HMRC to obtain details of approximately 400,000 offshore bank accounts.

HMRC has stated that there will be a further amnesty to allow taxpayers to come forward if they have not already made a full disclosure of foreign income and gains. The Revenue is also planning to obtain information from a new tranche of financial institutions which will enable it to obtain details of further offshore accounts. The first amnesty recovered approximately £400m in unpaid tax at a cost of £6.5m therefore it can be seen as a very profitable exercise. Please contact us if you have any concerns regarding offshore bank accounts.

 May 2009