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Deadline to Disclose Offshore Income Extended
09 December 2009
On 27 November three days before the deadline for people to register under the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announced that they were extending the deadline to 4 January 2010.
The reason given by Dave Hartnett (HMRC Permanent Secretary for Tax) was that HMRC had become aware that a number of bank customers would not be contacted in good time to allow them to register the fact that they needed to make a disclosure by 30 November 2009.
He went on to say that he would strongly urge anyone who has been hiding taxable assets offshore to go online and register. Dave Hartnett has warned people who choose not to register that, at the beginning of the New Year, HMRC will begin to investigate those people that were eligible to disclose under the NDO but “instead buried their heads in the sand”.
It is interesting to note that this is the first time HMRC have actually stated a date for when they will commence the many investigations they are known to have ready. One reason for this could be the very low registrations under the NDO, estimated at just over 6,000 so far.
We would acknowledge that this does give people a second chance to come forward, however people who opened their offshore accounts up without going through a UK branch or agency can also now make a disclosure under the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF). It does not matter if at present they do not hold an asset in Liechtenstein, as one can be acquired. The LDF is considerably more favourable, especially if people believe they will have a tax liability that was incurred more than ten years ago.
So before people rush to register under the NDO, it might be worthwhile considering whether there is a better way to make a disclosure to HMRC. Whichever way to disclose is chosen we would be able to give you the best professional advice. In the last 4 months BTG Tax has established a number of working contacts with trust companies, banks and solicitors in both Liechtenstein and Switzerland. These contacts will be able to assist in advising how to acquire relevant property in Liechtenstein at a competitive cost. Most of the investigations team are ex senior Inspector of Taxes within HMRC, or have many years experience in dealing with HMRC enquiries and disclosures to HMRC.
Author: Jeff Millington
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