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Offshore tax dodgers are being warned they have one final chance to come clean, or face the consequences, in a hard-hitting YouTube video launched by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

In the two-minute video, Dave Hartnett, HMRC’s Permanent Secretary for Tax, warns that anyone with undeclared offshore bank accounts who doesn’t come forward under HMRC’s New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) will face much higher penalties and even criminal prosecution.

Dave Hartnett says:

“For some people, offshore bank accounts and tax havens typically conjure up images of exotic and far away places, well out of the reach of the taxman at home. Well, life’s just not like that any more. And here’s a blunt message from HM Revenue & Customs: times have changed. The taxman now has more powers and more information.”

And if you think you can ignore this opportunity, Mr Hartnett says “you’re burying your head in the sand”.

Issuing a reminder about the 30 November notification deadline, he makes it clears that people must do it now, “because there won’t be another chance”. Disclosures can be made on paper up until 31 January 2010, and electronically up to 12 March 2010. Penalties under the NDO will be capped at 10 per cent (or 20 per cent, if individuals failed to take up an opportunity to disclose under HMRC’s 2007 Offshore Disclosure Facility).

Once the disclosure window closes on 12 March 2010, those taxpayers who have not come forward but are found to have unpaid tax liabilities will face penalties of at least 30%, possibly rising to 100% of the tax evaded. They also run a risk of criminal prosecution.

The video is available to view now by visiting the YouTube website at www.youtube.com and searching for “HMRC NDO”.

For more information on the NDO, visit HMRC’s website at https://ndo.hmrc.gov.uk/ndo.