More than 300 Banks Forced to Disclose Private Offshore Bank Accounts to HMRC

13
Aug/090

More than 300 Banks Forced to Disclose Private Offshore Bank Accounts to HMRC

A court ruling has obliged 308 banks with operations in the UK to hand over information on their clients’ private offshore bank accounts.

HMRC Believes British Tax Payers Are Concealing Billions Offshore

In concert with a forthcoming tax amnesty set for this Autumn, the judgement will help HMRC reveal 1000’s of offshore accounts that hold secret wealth not reported to tax authorities.

Although a list of the banks has not been published, is it thought that many are established banks with offshore branches in tax havens and offshore financial centres like Switzerland. Others will be foreign banks that have opened UK branches.

Affluent offshore account holders who choose not to reveal their private accounts will face a penalty of 30% and a greater risk of criminal prosecution if government investigators discover that they evaded tax.

The UK government believes wealthy British citizens are concealing billions offshore, and is determined to recoup unreported wealth.