Offshore disclosure initiative a good idea, tax group says

The latest HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) initiative to encourage offshore best private banking clients to declare income has been welcomed by a key industry group.

According to the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), the scheme is attractively structured to encourage large numbers of people to confess.

HMRC is launching the initiative as a follow-up to 2007’s similarly-structured Offshore Disclosure Facility (ODF), which netted the organisation around £450 million.

It will work by imposing a tax penalty set at a fraction of what it would have been if the assets had been declared at the outset.

Therefore, those who passed up on the opportunity to declare under the ODF will be charged 20 per cent.

CIOT said: ’We believe it is significant that the penalty for those who had the chance under the ODF … has been set at 20 per cent as HMRC have been seeking 30-35 per cent on such cases where they have already opened enquiries.

’HMRC are making this opportunity as attractive as possible by setting the penalty at that level.’ADNFCR-2318-ID-19236167-ADNFCR