approximately 45,000 holders of offshore bank accounts, who met the
deadline of 26 November, under the official offshore disclosure
scheme, according to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
The largest payment under the amnesty was £3 million ($6.15
million); the average was £9,000. Some 64,000 people had registered
a potential liability in July 2006.
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The sums raised fell well short of a target, thought to be around
£1.75 billion, to raise tax revenues under the disclosure system,
although HMRC has denied that it had released such an estimate.
People who paid by 26 November benefited from an amnesty which
capped any penalty at 10 percent of the unpaid tax. An HMRC
spokesman said the facility was a key element of its strategy to
ensure that putting money offshore does not provide “an unfair
advantage over those who pay their fair share”.
HMRC has already said it is considering launching a second campaign
in the new year. This will attempt to target those who have failed
to pay tax on money in offshore accounts run by approximately 150
financial institutions such as building societies, stockbrokers and
investment management companies. However, the signs are that many
will fight disclosure on confidential client holdings abroad,
including taking court action.
The British Banking Association (BBA) has told the government that
forcing banks to provide more information on sensitive offshore
accounts is “premature” following HMRC’s recent loss of computer
discs containing personal information of 25 million people. The
banking industry believes a balance must be found between
maintaining appropriate customer confidentiality and tracking down
people who fail to pay their taxes.
At a time when people question the ability of authorities to take
proper care of personal data, “we think it would be premature to
provide more information on offshore account holders to Revenue
&Customs”, the BBA said.
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By GlobalDataIn response to HMRC’s consultation on the provision of information
about offshore account holders, the industry has raised concern
over the agency’s new proposals for banks and building societies to
complete a questionnaire to determine if they must disclose the
details of offshore accounts held by UK residents.
