The decision to extend the assessment time limit to 12 years gives too much power to HMRC with the tax authority already being handed a huge volume of data from the Common Reporting Standard , warns Dawn Register, partner in the tax resolution team at BDO
HMRC recently consulted on extending assessment time limits, which provoked much criticism in the tax profession and from the accounting institutes and charities. The consultation is now closed and we await HMRC’s publication of the responses and draft legislation in summer 2018.
Of course, this is a continuing theme, with HMRC focusing on tackling tax evasion and non-compliance involving offshore income and assets for many years. However, 2018 is described as a ‘global game changer’, with automatic bank data flowing to the UK tax authorities. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) sees second wave adopters sending offshore bank data to HMRC from 30 September 2018. This involves more than 100 counties, including destinations of particular interest to HMRC, such as Hong Kong, Israel, Monaco, Switzerland, Singapore, the Bahamas and Andorra.
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