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HMRC have joined forces with inland revenue departments from several other countries worldwide, to crack down on tax evasion via bank accounts in tax havens.
The move follows earlier reports that HMRC handed over as much as £100,000 to an informant in exchange for details of bank accounts held in Lichtenstein by wealthy Britons. The payment was made in an effort to discover whether the accounts have been disclosed for tax.
All member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) — including the UK, Australia, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, and USA — are now working together.
They were all represented at the FTA's September 2006 meeting in Korea, when tax commissioners from more than 30 countries identified the use of bank accounts in tax havens as a major threat to successful tax administration.
At the FTA 2008 meeting in South Africa, the commissioners agreed to study the role of banks in tax compliance.
HMRC acting Chairman Dave Hartnett said: 'Tax evasion is not a victimless crime. Honest citizens have to meet the cost of the tax that is evaded by a minority who are dishonest.
'Everyone is entitled to conduct their financial affairs in privacy, but secrecy laws which facilitate tax evasion are completely unacceptable.
'Those who have hidden their income and gains from HMRC should come forward and make a prompt and complete disclosure.
'In the light of recent developments involving Liechtenstein bank accounts, there needs to be a significant move towards full implementation of OECD standards on transparency and effective exchange of information in tax matters.'
