New Disclosure Opportunity: Tax Amnesty: What information do HMRC have regarding offshore bank accounts?

HMRC recently announced a new "tax amnesty" which they refer to as the New Disclosure Opportunity.

The New Disclosure Opportunity is a tax amnesty of sorts which applies to people with unpaid taxes linked to offshore accounts or assets. Unlike the 2007 tax amnesty HMRC have not, at the time of writing, extended this to people who have evaded tax but who do not have an offshore account. There is a different sort of amnesty for those who have assets in Liechtenstein and this will be covered in a separate article.

Tax Amnesty (New Disclosure Opportunity) Key Facts

What do I need to do to register for the new tax amnesty?

To participate in the New Disclosure Opportunity you must notify HMRC of your intent to disclose that you have had untaxed income between 1 September 2009 and 30 November 2009. You will be able to register for the New Disclosure Opportunity electronically or on paper (the electronic method of registering for the tax amnesty will not be available until 1 October 2009).

Do I need to disclose the source of the additional tax or offshore bank account when I register to take part in the New Disclosure Opportunity?

The forms are not available for review at the time of writing. It is likely that the process will be very similar to the 2007 tax amnesty where all you had to do was to give HMRC a notification that you wanted to take part in the tax amnesty. It is our view that the sort of details needed at the time of registration for the new tax amnesty will include the following:

Name of person or company
Address of the person or company
National Insurance Number
Tax Reference if the person is already paying tax.

What happens after registering for the New Disclosure Opportunity?

People will be expected to self assess the amounts of tax they believe is due and to then calculate the interest and penalties due on this. This will be able to be done on paper between 1 September to 30 November 2009 or electronically between 1 October 2009 and 12 March 2010.

What penalty will be applied to the tax disclosed under the new tax amnesty?

HMRC have stated that the penalty level for those who they did not write to under the last tax amnesty will be 10%of the tax due. For those who they wrote to under the last tax amnesty, who chose not to participate in the last tax amnesty the penalty will be 20%of the tax due.

What happens if I do not register and take part in the new disclosure opportunity and I have an offshore account and income which has not been taxed?

HMRC have stated that those who do not take part in the latest tax amnesty who are found to have committed tax fraud will incur a penalty of between 30% and 100% of the tax found to be due. They have also stated that these people also run the risk of prosecution.

How can Gilbert Tax help me?

Gilbert Tax specialise in helping people who have committed a tax fraud or tax evasion and who need help disclosing this to the Inland Revenue in such a way as to minimise their liabilities as far as possible.

Gilbert Tax helped hundreds of people through the perils and pitfalls of the last tax amnesty. For further information about how we can help you in the current tax amnesty (new disclosure opportunity) call us for a confidential free discussion on 0800 734 3333 or e-mail scott.gilbert@gilberttax.co.uk now

Gilbert Tax:

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Between the 6 partners and 2 members of staff Gilbert Tax has over 90 years' experience of tax investigations from both working for HMRC and spending significant time in top accountancy firms tax investigation teams defending businesses subject to Inland Revenue Investigations. Gilbert Tax offer a unique blend of relevant experience at affordable prices.

For a private discussion about how we can resolve your tax investigation and potentially save you money contact us at any time using the detail below. Our initial discussion will be undertaken without charge. Although based in the North of England we have clients all over the country

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