UK HMRC Releases New Policy Documents to Tackle Offshore Evasion

The government announced four consultations as part of its publication Tackling Evasion and Avoidance.  These take forward HMRC’s strategy for tackling offshore evasion, No Safe Havens.  An update on this strategy was published in April 2014.

The four consultations are:

1. Tackling offshore tax evasion: Strengthening civil deterrents for offshore evaders

This consultation seeks views on the options to further strengthen civil deterrents for tax evaders.

2. Tackling offshore tax evasion: Civil sanctions for enablers of offshore evasion

This consultation seeks views on the design of civil sanctions to tackle enablers of offshore evasion.

3. Tackling offshore tax evasion: A new corporate criminal offence of failure to prevent the facilitation of evasion

The government announced its intention to introduce a new corporate criminal offence for failure to prevent tax evasion. This consultation seeks views on the design and potential impacts of the offence.

4. Tackling offshore tax evasion: A new criminal offence for offshore evaders

The government has confirmed its intention to introduce a new criminal offence for tax evaders. This consultation seeks further views on the design of the offence and provides responses to the first consultation on this offence, which took place in Autumn 2014.