Tax experts are calling for the New Disclosure Opportunity - a chance for offshore account holders to come clean on interest - to be kept 'short and sweet'. PKF tax investigations partner John Cassidy said that a shorter NDO would be more appropriate, if HM Revenue & Customs is to benefit from the scheme. 'The maximum period for the NDO should be kept short - set at 10 years or less - to sweeten the offer for offshore account holders,' he said. The approach could encourage more individuals to take part and would result in HMRC collecting 'more tax arrears overall and it won't be left with a long list of offshore account holders to investigate in detail'. The original 2007 Offshore Disclosure Facility required account holders to report undeclared liabilities over the prior 20 years so that they would only be subject to a 10% tax penalty. The ODF had a 'hugely negative impact' on account holders because of its 'sheer enormity', which subsequently led to HMRC collecting little of what it expected to from the overall amount of tax arrears. Cassidy said that potential users of the ODF were not only discouraged by the amounts of money they had to pay back but also by the extra work needed to re-create 'accurate records for such a long period'. By keeping the amnesty short, users are more likely to have documents available such as their bank statements. Cassidy said: 'As this is likely to be the last tax amnesty, keeping it short and sweet should give the best result for all parties.'