Taxing matters

OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS

Last year HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was successful in its application to the courts seeking a Taxes Management Act 1970 (TMA 1970), s 20 notice to obtain information about customers of Barclays Bank who had UK addresses but also had credit cards which were associated with offshore bank accounts (see 156 NLJ 7222, p 717). Having obtained this information, it followed up with another application seeking information about customers with UK addresses and non UK bank accounts (see 156 NLJ 7232, p 1097). This was generally thought to be the tip of an iceberg/thin end of wedge/battering ram—select appropriate metaphor; so it has proved.

Breach of confidentiality

Those who have offshore accounts and do not properly disclose the income on their tax return deserve to be pursued and penalised by HMRC—but I seriously wonder whether the destruction of banking confidentiality is necessary to achieve this end. Why should a substantial number of people who have dealt with their tax affairs properly have their personal