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Offshore golden eggs

16 February 2016 / Tony Monger
Issue: 4538 / Categories: Comment & Analysis
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How much more does the government expect to squeeze from its perception of offshore tax evasion?

KEY POINTS

  • More legislation is planned to tackle undisclosed offshore income.
  • First offshore disclosure facility resulted in much less tax than HMRC had hoped.
  • Outcome of subsequent opportunities including the LDF has disappointed.
  • General opposition to the proposed new legislation.

The draft 2016 Finance Bill contains proposals for legislation to tackle offshore evasion in four specific areas. These involve:

  • strengthening civil deterrents for offshore evaders;
  • new civil sanctions for ‘enablers’ of offshore evasion;
  • a new criminal offence for offshore evasion; and
  • a new corporate criminal offence of ‘failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion’.

Taken with the existing penalties that apply to offshore evasion under FA 2007 Sch 24 – up to 200% of the evaded...

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