Offshore tax evasion

The government is determined to reduce incentives and increase penalties for those who do not pay the tax they should. As part of this the UK has contributed to the development of new international standards on transparency, which will give HMRC more information to find offshore tax evaders.

In parallel with the development of a more robust system of tax information exchange, the government has toughened the penalties which apply where tax is evaded and such evasion involves jurisdictions that do not have the highest level of tax transparency.

In order to provide taxpayers with a final opportunity to settle their affairs before the receipt of vast amounts of data under various international agreements, HMRC offered a worldwide disclosure facility, which was available until the end of September 2018.

This subtopic provides guidance on the following measures to tackle offshore tax evasion:

1. •

   Exchange of information for tax purposes

2. •

   Offshore penalties, sanctions and criminal offences

3. •

   Disclosure facilities and tax co-operation agreement

4. •

   Client notification obligations

5. •

   Registers of ultimate beneficial owners

For guidance on anti-avoidance provisions affecting the scope for international