HMRC recently extended the tax amnesty deadline to the 4th of January – which is a good thing because shortly after doing so it was announced that there will be a massive increase in the potential fines faced by those who deliberately evade tax by squirreling their money away offshore.
Offshore tax dodgers are to face even bigger fines from 2011 it has been announced – therefore if you have undeclared assets offshore, perhaps you should be speaking to an accountant about declaring your ‘crime’ to the Treasury quickly before January the 4th 2010.
The new fines will be up to a ceiling of 200% of the unpaid tax amount – and the legislation behind the move will come into being next year following the Budget, and be brought into effect by 2011. As we always repeat, ignorance is no excuse when it comes to taxation – you have to be aware of your own liabilities and responsibilities and fulfil your obligations. But if you’re a British tax payer and you’ve avoided taxes…now is a good time to get your affairs in order.
A total of 14 new measures have been brought to the table in a bid to recapture lost tax revenue in the UK – the most aggressive of which is the doubling of the maximum fine for those who have avoided, evaded or ‘forgotten’ to pay tax on offshore assets. Prior to the current tax amnesty the maximum fine dished out to those convicted was 100% of the unpaid tax, plus the unpaid tax, plus interest on the unpaid tax. At the moment, because of the tax amnesty in effect, those who come forward are likely to ‘only’ face a fine of 10% of the unpaid tax, plus the unpaid tax, plus interest.
From 2011, those who are found to have deliberately avoided tax will face a fine of 200% of the unpaid tax – plus the unpaid tax, plus interest. So, it will get very expensive indeed if you’re caught out. What’s more, the government is not just employing the tactics of hot air and harsh words – they are determined to crack down on the deliberate and wilful avoidance of taxation by British tax payers…so if you are concerned that you have unpaid taxes as a result of having assets overseas or offshore – use the current amnesty wisely, speak to an accountant and determined whether you have a liability or not.
According to a BBC report, the government is about to begin receiving information from hundreds of financial institutions about account holders; information that may eventually lead them to those British tax payers who have avoided their tax obligations…therefore there has never been more pressure on anyone with unpaid debts to sort out their affairs and come clean.
