A seminar hosted by PwC Isle of Man put the spotlight on the UK’s proposed new measures to combat offshore tax evasion.

Speakers at the event at the Villa Marina included members of the team at HM Revenue & Customs, who updated the packed audience on recent developments in the battle to tackle tax evasion, and also how they will impact on offshore service providers.

The event also considered the effect on offshore providers’ clients, focusing on the forthcoming legislation around the corporate criminal offence of ‘failure to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion’.

The event also covered HMRC's most recent proposal – ‘Tackling offshore tax evasion: A Requirement to Correct’. This draft legislation proposes a new regime designed to motivate anyone with tax liabilities connected to offshore assets to make a disclosure to HMRC before information is passed to them under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Chaired by Kevin Cowley, Tax Partner at PwC Isle of Man, speakers for the seminar included Jennie Haslett, a specialist from HMRC's Corporate Crime and International Engagement team, and Jon Preshaw, Tax Director with PwC UK's Tax Disclosure Team.

‘The seminar was a full house and that reflects the importance of the new measures to offshore businesses,’ Kevin said. ‘HMRC's focus on tax evasion continues apace with announcements coming rapidly about new measures both to deter those considering carrying on tax evasion and service providers who might assist in helping to carry the evasion out.

‘It is vital that offshore businesses understand their obligations and how they need to adapt their businesses to deal with the changes. In that regard it was extremely valuable to have Jennie speaking today, as she is responsible for the roll-out of the new corporate criminal offence legislation and is best placed to advise businesses on how to meet their obligations.

‘Also, Jon is hugely experienced in the area of making tax disclosures and the resolution of disputes and provided some excellent examples of how the new rules might work in practice. Feedback suggests that this was a valuable session to those attending.’

HMRC is travelling to jurisdictions around the world to publicise its message and ensure businesses are ready for the impact it will have. The seminar heard that companies must think about the legislation from a global perspective, looking at best practice and applying a gold standard to their approach.

‘Rather than looking at this as a domestic issue, embracing the new legislation and the structural and operational changes that may be required presents businesses with an opportunity to ‘future-proof’ themselves against possible international change and differentiate themselves as global market-leading compliant businesses,’ Kevin said.

Image: Left to right – Jon Preshaw, Tax Director with PwC UK's Tax Disclosure Team; Jessica Lawlor, Policy & Strategy Advisory at HMRC; Jennie Haslett, a specialist from HMRC's Corporate Crime and International Engagement team; and Kevin Cowley, Tax Partner, PwC Isle of Man

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