Crime Solicitors

The government has unveiled a raft of new measures to make bankers and company bosses criminally liable if they help clients avoid paying tax.

Chancellor George Osborne said he was “coming after tax dodgers” and new laws will introduce fines and prison sentences to “name and shame” financial professionals who help taxpayers avoid paying their fair share of tax owed on their income, investments or profits.

Prosecutions for tax avoidance will also be made easier as a result of the new tax avoidance laws.

The clampdown on tax evasion and planned tax avoidance is primarily aimed at offshore investors who squirrel their money away in a string of different companies to make it hard for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to trace sums of money which have not been declared for tax purposes in the UK.

Offshore tax havens now have an agreement with HMRC to disclose offshore accounts – previously, offshore accounts were considered a private matter. However, tax avoidance can involve moving sums of money between different jurisdictions and a myriad of different companies, making the paper trail difficult to follow for tax investigators.

Nominal offshore companies are often used in property investment portfolios, so that tracing the owner of a property – or the landlord of a leasehold tenant in disrepair cases – can be extremely complex.

The measures to prevent tax avoidance were announced by Liberal Democrat MP and Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander – who told ministers that accountants and companies who help people evade tax were “no better than burglars”.

“Tax evasion is a crime like any other,” said Mr Alexander.

“If people help a burglar, then they are accomplices and criminals, too. Now it will be the same for those who help tax evaders.”

The government’s key proposals to tackle tax evasion are:

• A liability criminal offence for offshore tax evasion – those who avoid tax using offshore trusts and accounts will no longer be able to plead ignorance about their tax arrangements.

• If a corporation – such as a bank – facilitates tax evasion or fails to prevent it, it will be breaking the law.

• Those who enable tax evasion will face the same civil penalties as the tax evader.

• Courts will “name and shame” tax evaders or those who assist clients in tax evasion, such as accountants or financial advisers.

The new penalties for tax avoidance are part of a £5 billion government initiative to stop tax evasion.

The Chancellor George Osborne said:

“This is a whole new set of weapons in our armoury to make sure people make a fair contribution.

“By doing that, we can then reduce the burden of cuts in the departments and the savings we need to make on welfare.”

Duncan Lewis Crime Solicitors

Duncan Lewis crime solicitors can advise at any stage of a charge involving financial crime – including financial fraud or tax avoidance/evasion – and are available 24/7, 365 days a year to advise on criminal law and for representation during police interview under caution.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide – our crime solicitors regularly visit police stations and courts and a criminal defence solicitor can usually be with you in under an hour.

For expert legal advice on all criminal charges, call Duncan Lewis crime solicitors on 020 7923 4020.

For out-of-hours criminal law advice and representation during interview under caution, call the Duncan Lewis Crime Lawyers Out-of-Hours Hotline on 07920 077057