The net for offshore investors, who are possibly avoiding paying tax, is closing in. HM Revenue and Customs have forced another four high street banks to reveal details of offshore account activities. The four banks have not been officially named, but they are believed to be HSBC, Halifax Building Society, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB. This follows on from a previous investigation into Barclays Banks customers, in April of last year.
However, some experts believe that if the HM Revenue and Customs were to investigate smaller banks the percentage of customers would be much higher.
Our view
We believe that you should volunteer information about your offshore accounts and do this sooner rather than later. Anybody who believes that they know a person who may be evading tax has an obligation to report that person or face charges themselves.