Autumn Statement 2015: Tightening the net on tax evasion

With the Government’s committed aim to ensure everyone pays their ‘fair share of taxation’, the following has been announced regarding tax evasion:

• Criminal offence for tax evasion – A new criminal offence that removes the need to prove intent for the most serious cases of failing to declare offshore income and gains will be introduced;

• Civil penalties for offshore tax evaders – Civil penalties for deliberate offshore tax evasion will be increased, including the introduction of a new penalty linked to the value of the asset on which tax was evaded and increased public naming of tax evaders;

• Civil penalties for those who enable offshore evasion – New civil penalties will be introduced for those who enable offshore tax evasion, including public naming of those who have enabled the evasion;

• Criminal offence for corporates failing to prevent tax evasion – A new criminal offence will be introduced for corporates which fail to prevent their agents from criminally facilitating tax evasion by an individual or entity;

• An additional requirement to correct past offshore tax non-compliance – A consultation will be published on an additional requirement for individuals to correct any past offshore non-compliance with new penalties for failure to do so.