There should be a tax amnesty for all, according to a Midlands expert.
Ian Shirley, a tax investigations specialist with national Audit, Tax and Advisory firm Crowe Clark Whitehill, said that there was now “compelling evidence” for its introduction.
His comments follow a recent survey by Crowe Clark Whitehill which found that more than three-quarters of accountants were in favour of a General Disclosure Facility.
“This would be much fairer and in effect offer a ‘one-stop-shop’ for tax offenders,” said Mr Shirley.
“A single, uniform and well thought out domestic tax amnesty would be to the benefit of everyone – HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), taxpayers and the Government.
“There would have to be guaranteed immunity from prosecution for tax offences, a low fixed rate penalty and effective time to pay. It is long overdue.”
HMRC has done a number of tax haven deals in recent years, the best known of which is the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF).
Until April 5, 2016, Liechtenstein account holders who have a UK tax liability have the opportunity to make a voluntary disclosure and, in return, HMRC will charge a fixed penalty of 10 per cent on unpaid duties up to April 5, 2009, and 20 per cent for tax years thereafter. This is significantly lower than the maximum 100 per cent that could be charged should HMRC start its own tax investigation. And, under the LDF, it will only seek unpaid tax from April 6, 1999 onwards compared to an ordinary tax disclosure where HMRC can go back up to 20 years.
Indeed, it is considered significantly more generous than last year’s tax agreement with Switzerland, whereby UK residents there will be subject to a one-off deduction of between 21 per cent and 41 per cent of their account holdings in order to settle past tax liabilities. This agreement will come into force on or after January 2013.
Mr Shirley is urging offenders to switch money from Switzerland to Liechtenstein in order to minimise their penalty.
The one-time HMRC inspector, who has particular expertise in assisting clients through the LDF, having been involved in more than 50 such cases, said: “The potential for saving significant amounts of tax, interest and penalties using the LDF is huge.
“Those with Swiss accounts who are being targeted should think seriously at moving their money to Liechtenstein to take advantage of what is a more generous settlement.
“In fact the sooner they do it the better. They should seek advice if they need guidance through the complexities.”
Ian works for Crowe Clark Whitehill’s tax investigations team in the Midlands. The firm’s tax investigations team recently won the ‘Best Tax Investigation Team’ category at the 2012 Lexis Nexis Taxation awards’.
