A leading tax investigations specialist is urging people with offshore bank accounts to seek professional advice following the announcement of a second tax amnesty by HMRC.
Des Veney, a partner at Haines Watts Chartered Accountants on Victoria Street, said the amnesty, which will begin with paper disclosures from September 1‘will give individuals a chance to declare any previously undisclosed income.
Mr Veney added: “The Government are talking about an ‘amnesty’ but people are still going to pay a penalty. My advice is to act now and be ready for when the New Disclosure Opportunity schedule comes into force. Des Veney predicts that there will be larger penalties to pay if the opportunity to disclose is not taken and therefore suggests that anyone who is concerned seeks advice.
In addition, he added that the timing of the so-called amnesty could be confusing for many. Mr Veney said: “There are a number of different deadlines concerning the format of a variety of electronic and paper submissions, which means that disclosures will be made between a range of dates from September to March 2010.
“Whilst a number of incentives exist for the individual to make a declaration early, e.g. a reduced penalty, there is clearly a clash around self-assessment deadlines, which could be confusing for those making an online tax return and also an offshore disclosure. In order to make sure you pay the correct amounts at the right time, I would definitely suggest getting professional advice.”
The 2007 Offshore Disclosure Facility collected nearly £400m in additional tax, but now the revenue’s target has dramatically escalated to £2bn for the 2009/10 disclosure.
Mr Veney’s comments come just days after new research revealed high numbers of wealthy tax individuals are fuelling property booms in places such as Monaco, Gibraltar and Jersey, in an attempt to avoid an ‘onerous UK taxation system’.
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