HMRC Tax Evasion Campaign
The government has launched a new HMRC tax evasion campaign targeting people who have been avoiding paying tax by hiding it in offshore accounts.
If you are caught out then you will be liable for penalties of up to 200% of the tax owed and could also face a criminal prosecution and in the worst cases imprisonment.
HMRC have warned that “the net is closing” on those people who do not declare and pay the tax due on the overseas assets they hold. According to Chancellor George Osborne this leads to higher taxes for the rest of us who legitimately pay our taxes.
Tax avoidance?
Remember thought there is a difference between avoidance and evasion. Avoidance is totally legal and involves reducing your tax bill by accounting in the most efficient way. Some schemes push the boundaries however and then become classed as Tax Evasion.
Evasion is the illegal avoidance of tax and means you are concealing the true facts and hence will lead to a prosecution if the authorities discover this.
As with the majority of HMRC campaigns, the new scheme is aimed at encouraging people to follow the correct path and procedures and where they have not, to declare this and reach an agreement with them about what is owing.
If you are worried about any overseas assets you have and whether you have declared them correctly, please contact us for advice right away.
