HMRC has issued a news release outlining its work with the US and Australian tax authorities as part of an international approach to tackle offshore tax evasion.

HMRC has confirmed that it is working with both the United States IRS and the Australian Tax Office on data which it says reveals extensive use of complex offshore structures to conceal assets by wealthy individuals and companies.

The sizeable data is still being analysed but early results show the use of companies and trusts in a number of territories around the world. The data also exposes information that may be shared with other tax administrations as part of the global fight against tax evasion.

So far HMRC has identified over 100 people who benefit from these structures and a number of those individuals had already been identified and are under investigation for offshore tax evasion. They have also identified more than 200 UK accountants, lawyers and other professional advisors who advise on setting up these structures who will also be scrutinised.

As a result, HMRC advise that UK residents who use these offshore structures should review their taxation arrangements, and seek advice if necessary, to ensure they are compliant with UK tax law.

HMRC do recognise that there is nothing illegal about an international structure, especially in a globally integrated economy and that some of these arrangements may be perfectly legitimate and may already have been declared to HMRC. However, where these involve tax evasion, avoidance or other serious offences by taxpayers, it is clear that HMRC will closely scrutinise such arrangements. Specifically, the behaviour being targeted is to stop the use of offshore structures to illegally hide assets and income.