Corporate facilitation of tax evasion: the new frontier. A special two-part analysis by QEB Hollis Whiteman Chambers
- The Criminal Finances Act 2017 includes new corporate criminal offences of failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion, which came into force at the end of September.
- These are strict liability offences coupled with reverse burden ‘reasonable prevention procedures’ defences, akin to the Bribery Act 2010. They have far-reaching implications.
There is no doubt that the recent years of austerity have naturally triggered debate surrounding the adequacy of the Government’s tax enforcement methods. In tandem, the HSBC Switzerland ‘secret accounts’, the ‘Panama papers’ scandals have highlighted significant holes in the current regulatory and criminal enforcement regimes. It is no coincidence that the events in 2015 and 2016 were immediately followed by Government consultations on better tackling tax avoidance and evasion alike. This month’s striking publication of the ‘Paradise papers’ has raised similar concerns.
Following these consultations, the Government has sought to strengthen the legislative tools at its disposal to
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