UK Revenue targets 5,000 accounts for offshore investigation
2-May-2008The UK Revenue (HMRC) is set to contact around 5,000 holders of offshore bank accounts to request a formal declaration of their account details.
HM Revenue & Customs obtained the details of 400,000 offshore bank accounts from High Street banks and then offered an offshore disclosure facility to any taxpayers who had not disclosed earnings in offshore bank accounts earlier.
HMRC is now using the letters to follow up on those who did not come forward during the offshore "amnesty" period.
The letters that will be sent out say: "Your bank(s) has provided us with details about your account(s). For a limited period HMRC offered a facility to help offshore account holders to get their tax affairs up to date - the offshore disclosure facility."
"Now we are contacting people where we have information but we cannot tell from our records if they have told us about their offshore accounts, and they have not sent us a notification under the terms of the offshore disclosure facility."
The letter, which calls for taxpayers to respond in 30 days, warns that if recipients choose not to respond they "risk being the subject of a formal tax enquiry" and that the "penalty could be up to 100% of the tax and duties due".
But HMRC is understood to be taking cooperation into account when setting fines and tax penalties may be reduced to a minimum of 30% of the balance owed.
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