Fines for hiding cash in tax havens will double

TAX dodgers who hide money offshore face swingeing fines unless they come clean, under a crackdown announced yesterday.

HM Revenue and Customs said it was ending the system of cosy deals that allow some tax evaders to escape fines if they cooperate with the authorities.

Wealthy individuals and firms are now being given two years to come clean about the scale of their offshore wealth or face automatic fines of up to 200 per cent of the amount owed. The previous maximum fine was 100 per cent of the money owed.

HMRC yesterday said that a new deal on information sharing with tax havens like the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg meant there was now a much better chance of recouping money.

Jane Ellison, financial secretary to the Treasury, said: ‘For too long it has been too easy for people to hide their money overseas to evade tax. We are changing that.

‘From October we will start to receive data on the offshore finances of UK taxpayers. This is a game-changer in the fight against evasion and it’s time for anyone evading tax to do the right thing and pay what they owe.’

However some tax havens, such as Panama, have not signed up to the information sharing deal – meaning determined tax evaders could still hide assets offshore.