Hartnett: FSA could probe offshore accounts

Marketing of offshore accounts may not have clarified the tax consequences, Hartnett says

Written by Alex Hawkes

Accountancy Age, 04 Jun 2007

The FSA could probe the activity of banks in selling offshore bank accounts, according to HM Revenue & Customs director general Dave Hartnett.

Hartnett, speaking to The Sunday Times, said he was concerned about the way bank accounts had been marketed without clarifying the tax consequences: 'One of the things I am concerned about is the extent to which some of the marketing has…misled them.'

Hartnett made the comments after Accountancy Age revealed on Friday the latest progress on the offshore disclosure scheme. 4,300 people have disclosed so far, raising several million pounds.

'We will look at how offshore products have been marketed because part of our job is to try to make sure people understand their tax obligations and meet them, so if they are being misled we want to understand that. It would be an FSA matter and we have a statutory [obligation] to pass information to the FSA.'