Draft Finance Bill 2017: Requirement to correct certain offshore tax non-compliance
The LITRG welcomes this initiative by HMRC to encourage taxpayers to review their offshore affairs and put them back onto a compliant footing where necessary. The “requirement to correct” requires taxpayers to correct their offshore tax affairs without specific prompting from HMRC. In order for these proposals to be successful, there will need to be effective communication by HMRC with all taxpayers, in particular, hard-to-reach groups affected.
HMRC’s messages concerning data sharing must be communicated effectively to all non-compliant taxpayers, both the deliberately non-compliant and those who have not been deliberately non-compliant. HMRC should also ensure that there is clarity for all taxpayers about what they can expect from HMRC going forward. We are hugely concerned that the proposed penalties, which are extremely harsh, might deter some taxpayers from coming forward. We welcome, however, the inclusion of provision for a reasonable excuse.
The LITRG submission can be found here:
Joanne Walker