Offshore account tax disclosures reach 60,000

More than 60,000 disclosures have so far been made to HM Revenue &
Customs Offshore Disclosure Facility.

Tens of thousands of disclosures have been made over the last couple of
weeks, with just 11,000 made by last Friday.

The tax-man is targeting around a quarter of offshore accounts it holds
details on – or around 100,000 people.

Today is the last day that people can disclose to the offshore disclosure
facility. Those that disclose will have until 26 November to pay their full tax
with a 10% penalty.

After today HMRC will begin targeting individuals who failed to make a
disclosure.

Contrary to reports, director general
Dave Hartnett told
Accountancy Age that the taxman would not just focus on
prosecuting the rich and famous, instead it would look to prosecute across a
broad cross-section of society.

‘We need to provide a deterrent for the whole of society, and those 400,000
investors represent a microcosm of society,’ he said. ‘So [HMRC has to] make
sure our activities are well-known and reach out to every strata of society.’

Further reading:

Offshore accounts special: AA-TV
meets Dave Hartnett

See the
Hartnett TV interview here