Depositor protection to spark fresh HMRC investigations

The government’s increased protection for depositors as a result of the credit crunch will lead to more investigations of savers using offshore bank accounts for tax purposes, Grant Thornton claimed today.

The firm believe HM Revenue & Customs will step up its pursuits of offshore as they come back to the UK to gain the guarantee of up to £50,000 in savings.

Gary Ashford, a GT tax investigations expert, said: ‘The current problems in the global savings market may result in many high net worth individuals moving their funds back to the UK in a bid to seek the government’s protection.

‘We may well see an increase in retail banks issuing suspicious activity reports as they closely examine the movement of money by investors suspected of failing to comply with current tax legislation.’

He says the clampdown may come on those who failed to disclose under last Offshore Disclosure Facility.

HMRC has so far raised around £400m from offshore savers after writing to some 200,000 people.

‘HMRC is now stepping up its pursuit and is fully committed to commencing high-profile criminal prosecutions of taxpayers to act as a deterrent,’ said Ashford.