51 countries pledged to automatically swap bank data and tax information at an OECD conference in Berlin last week, as part of the recent coordinated global efforts to clamp down on tax fraud; particularly by those using offshore bank accounts to hide their wealth.
There are 51 “early adopters”: jurisdictions which will obtain and share details on bank accounts from 2017; including: the UK, most EU countries, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Mexico and South Korea. An additional 34 countries have promised to join in after 2018; including Switzerland, Hong Kong, Monaco and Russia.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development agreement meant that “banking secrecy has had its day.”
What does this mean for me?
If you are a UK tax payer with undeclared historic tax irregularities, and an offshore bank account, then it is increasingly certain that detailed information on that account will be passed to HMRC in the next few years. The tax authority would then carry out an investigation: possibly with a view to a criminal prosecution. There are still opportunities under the current offshore tax amnesties to make disclosures on favourable terms. Most beneficial of these is the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility. This doesn’t require any prior link to the principality, but the deadline for registering does expire in 2016.
How can Lynam Tax Disclosure Experts help me?
Our Tax Disclosure Specialists have a huge amount of experience in dealing with voluntary disclosures in respect of UK residents with offshore bank accounts. We have the training, knowledge, skills and deep experience to manage your offshore disclosure to HMRC. We can reduce the stress and get the best solution for you.
*For a free, private, no obligation consultation, call
Paul Lynam: 0845 643 9997
Andrew Nutbrown: 07718 778710