HMRC to charge ‘higher penalties’ to UK resident non-dom taxpayers who claim remittance basis

HMRC has begun writing to UK resident non domiciled (RND) taxpayers who have claimed the remittance basis of taxation, 2018 eprivateclient Top Law Firm Edwin Coe has warned.

The letters provide details in relation to the Requirement to Correct (RTC) deadline (30 September 2018) and the ramifications if UK tax remains due on overseas income or gains post the deadline’s expiration.

HMRC states that from 1 October 2018, it will charge “much higher penalties” and the penalty will be 200 percent of the tax due. However HMRC can reduce the penalty based on the level of co-operation and the quality of the disclosure.

HMRC also confirmed that it will be receiving new financial information from more than 100 jurisdictions, under the terms of the Common Reporting Standard. The information it will receive will include details about non-UK bank accounts, structures, trusts and investments.

Given the exceedingly short period of time available and the fact that HMRC has only just started writing to taxpayers, Edwin Coe urged HMRC to consider a deferral of the current 1 October go live date.

The London-based law firm suggested that 1 January 2019 would seem a much more appropriate timeframe for taxpayers to properly understand the ramifications of the RTC legislation and engage with suitably qualified advisers to review the position.

Edwin Coe advises that if liabilities are identified, then the taxpayer must register an intention to disclose under either the Worldwide Disclosure Facility (WDF) or Contractual Disclosure Facility (CDF) before midnight on 30 September 2018 (24 September if phone is the preferred method of communication) as it can take time to obtain the relevant papers and documents to identify if a disclosure is required or not.

This article first published by eprivateclient.