Nunn Hayward - Abacus

Abacus Special September 2009

HMRC Announces New Tax Amnesties in Connection with Offshore Bank Accounts

You may have seen the recent publicity around these so called "tax amnesties". There was of course an amnesty a year ago, which revolved around disclosures made by the top five banks in respect of overseas accounts held by their customers.

HMRC have now approached over 300 banks to provide information about customers and their offshore accounts, as well as having received information specifically regarding monies held in Liechtenstein.

What are the advantages of "coming clean now"

Broadly, under the general amnesty called the "New Disclosure Opportunity" (NDO) whilst you would have to pay tax and interest in respect of undisclosed income/gains for the last 20 years, the penalty would be restricted to 10%.
Under the separate "Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility" (LDF) the period for which disclosure of income is required is 10 years (as opposed to 20 years) but with a 10% penalty.

Deadlines and Actions Required

For anybody that believes they may have an undisclosed offshore account/source of income, or knows anyone that may have, there is a window for registration which effectively commenced on 1 September 2009, and will close on 30 November 2009.

For anyone registering in this period, there will then be a window to complete certain information and forms regarding the quantum of omitted income/gains which will close on 31 January 2010 for people submitting paper forms, and 12 March 2010 electronically. HMRC have stated that anyone not coming forward by 12 March 2010 can expect a minimum penalty on top of tax and interest of 30%.

Whilst we do not believe that any Nunn Hayward clients will have deliberately omitted interest details/overseas income, given the 20 year window for which a declaration is required, it may well be entirely possible that oversight has played a part.

Should anyone have any queries about the NDO and LDF programmes, or specific queries concerning friends and family, please speak with Mr Stephen Cook, Tax Partner at Nunn Hayward (01753 888211 or steve.cook@nunn-hayward.com)

Please contact us to discuss the above further

Tel: 01753 888211 Fax: 01753 889669
Email: mail@nunn-hayward.com
Nunn Hayward, Sterling House, 20 Station Road, Gerrards Cross, Bucks SL9 8EL.

[Justify]Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors. This publication has been prepared as a guide only to topics of current financial and business interest. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice. No responsibility for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material in this publication can be accepted by either the authors or Nunn Hayward. All rights reserved.

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