As previously highlighted, higher HMRC penalties take effect from 1 October this year in relation to ‘offshore’ tax matters.
The new regime, known as ‘requirement to correct’ (RTC), imposes some very penal charges where UK tax is found to be underpaid in connection with a jurisdiction outside the UK.
That said, to put this in context, where a tax liability is found to be payable in connection with a ‘non-UK’ matter, the default penalty under RTC is 200% of the tax due, and the minimum penalty is 100% of the tax due.
It goes without saying that any potential underpayment of tax should be addressed as soon as possible. The new regime applying after 30 September 2018 brings this into even sharper focus for any liability which is not a purely UK domestic matter.
The 30 September deadline also coincides with the advent of exchange of information under the Common Reporting Standard.
From this date forward, the tax authorities in more than 100 countries will begin exchanging data on financial accounts and assets within their borders, and HMRC are therefore likely to receive more data than ever to alert them of potential non-compliance.
If you have any concerns or would like any further information concerning the above, please get in touch and we can discuss this in further detail.