New Disclosure Opportunity

The 4 January 2010 deadline for initial notification of an intention to make a disclosure under the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) has passed.. However, the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) remains open for any offshore income that falls within the LDF rules.

What should I do now if I have registered my intention to make a disclosure under the NDO?
The deadlines for making the actual disclosure will be 31 January 2010 for disclosures made in paper form and 12 March 2010 for disclosures made online.

The specialists who work within Grant Thornton's National Tax Investigations team know how to manage the disclosure process having successfully guided clients through the previous Offshore Disclosure Facility. Almost all of the disclosures that Grant Thornton prepared were accepted without amendment or further questioning; those which were picked for further questioning were soon closed with no further adjustments required. So we have a proven track record of knowing what is required to get through the process with the minimal amount of upheaval.

What will happen if a disclosure is not made?
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is gathering information concerning accounts held offshore by UK taxpayers and therefore if a disclosure is not forthcoming, it can be anticipated that HMRC will enquire into your affairs at some point in the future. HMRC is obtaining this information via an increasing number of information exchange agreements with offshore jurisdictions together with a growing number of court orders for financial institutions to produce details of offshore account holders with UK addresses. If a disclosure is not made under the NDO, then the minimum penalty could be 30% of the unpaid tax or even a criminal prosecution in some instances.

However, it is worth bearing in mind that not all taxpayers will be liable to tax, even where they have offshore assets owing to their tax residence and domicile status.

It may still be preferable to make a disclosure to HMRC before it starts an investigation as this will help to reduce any penalty charged or potential prosecution. With the correct advice, this can be done outside of the NDO arrangements.

How can Grant Thornton help you?
Our National Tax Investigations team can provide up to date advice on the solutions that might be available to you (or your clients). We can review structures or test issues such as your tax residence and domicile status. We can also work to quantify the level of any potential exposure to tax and work with you to negotiate a manageable settlement with HMRC.

A member of our team would be very happy to have an initial free, no obligation, discussion about any concerns you may have.

For further information, please contact:

London & South
Paul Roberts on +44 (0)207 728 2777 or paul.roberts@gtuk.com
Frank Strachan on +44 (0)207 728 2949 or frank.strachan@gtuk.com
Bob Robinson on +44 (0)207 728 2297 or bob.robinson@gtuk.com

North & Scotland
Grant Summers on +44 (0)161 953 6425 or grant.summers@gtuk.com
Martin O'Kane on +44 (0)161 953 6934 or martin.okane@gtuk.com

Midlands
David Pedley on +44 (0)121 232 5266 or david.pedley@gtuk.com
Heather Taylor on +44 (0)121 232 5121 or heather.taylor@gtuk.com

Northern Ireland
Steven Phillips on +44 (0)28 90316522 or steven.phillips@gtuk.com

Wales
John Brassey on +44 (0)29 20347504 or john.h.brassey@gtuk.com