Readers' forum : Offshore operations

My clients are mainly UK-based small and medium-sized businesses and their directors and owners. I try to steer clear of non-residents. However one of my clients has brought in a letter that was sent to a relative who lives in Europe. The letter is from a high street UK bank and is headed ‘we still need confirmation about where you’re a tax resident’. It refers to a form that was sent earlier but has not been completed and returned.

The letter says the replies to the questions on the form ‘will be used to establish if your information should be shared with the local tax authority’.

Can readers give me the lowdown on what is happening here? I assume this is to do with the common reporting standard but what are the implications for the individual? For a start which ‘local tax authority’ will the bank be...