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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet
New Disclosure Opportunity - CIOT welcomes initial details
06/06/2009, by Sarah Laing, Tax News - Professionals in Practice & Industry
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The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) welcomes the release by HMRC of some of the details of the forthcoming New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO).

The NDO, announced by the Chancellor in the 2009 Budget, will encourage taxpayers with undisclosed income from an offshore account to disclose their income and suffer a limited penalty.

The CIOT, together with other representative bodies, is working with HMRC with the intention of making the NDO work as effectively and efficiently as possible. The Institute has a number of concerns regarding the initial proposals and understands that these are currently being considered by HMRC as the plans are refined.

Gary Ashford, Chairman of the CIOT’s Management of Taxes Sub-Committee, says: "Those people who have not declared offshore income have evaded tax and we do not condone tax evasion in any way. However, it makes every sense to help such people regularise their tax affairs, particularly as many will have fallen foul of the law through mistake or misunderstanding."

The NDO has been welcomed by the CIOT who have applauded the advance notice of the scheme. The CIOT hopes that this will lead to further publicity from HMRC once the scheme is up and running and potential disclosers have the opportunity to disclose.

Gary Ashford continues: "We are pleased that a number of our recommendations have been accepted, including that the flat rate penalty for those who had no previous invitation to disclose should be 10% in line with the previous Offshore Disclosure Facility (ODF) and that, importantly, tax advisers will be able to file online on behalf of clients."

 

About The Author

Sarah Laing
Editor, TaxationWeb News

Sarah is a Chartered Tax Adviser. She has been writing professionally since joining CCH Editions in 1998 as a Senior Technical Editor, contributing to a range of highly regarded publications including the British Tax Reporter, Taxes - The Weekly Tax News, the Red & Green legislation volumes, Hardman's, International Tax Agreements and many others. She became Publishing Manager for the tax and accounting portfolio in 2001 and later went on to help run CCH Seminars (including ABG Courses and Conferences).

Sarah originally worked for the Inland Revenue in Newbury and Swindon Tax Offices, before moving out into practice in 1991. She has worked for both small and Big 5 firms. She now works as a freelance author providing technical writing services for the tax and accountancy profession.

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imacleod 11/06/2009 13:51

Those individuals choosing to participate in the scheme will be expected to settle the tax owed, interest thereon and a reduced penalty by 31 March 2010. For these individuals there is a high chance HMRC will accept the figures and move on, so peace of mind for these individuals could be achieved by taking advantage of this opportunity. However, those individuals choosing not to avail themselves of the scheme risk detailed investigations and possible prosecution. For more information on the New Disclosure Opportunity, visit our website http://www.edftax.co.uk