In a recent announcement, HM Government has announced plans to introduce a new strict liability criminal offence for individuals hiding their money offshore.

Under the plans, HMRC would no longer need to prove that individuals who have undeclared income offshore intended to evade tax, in order for a criminal conviction to be handed down.

At present, HMRC has to demonstrate that even when someone failed to declare offshore income that the individual intended to evade tax. This change will mean HMRC only has to demonstrate the income was taxable and undeclared meaning it will be easier to secure successful prosecutions of offshore tax evaders.

In addition to introducing the new criminal offence, it is also intended that a consultation process will look at a range of options building on the existing penalties faced by those hiding their money in offshore accounts (currently up to 200%) to ensure these act as a clear and effective deterrent.

The consultation will look at whether the existing penalty limit should be raised further, how penalties could be increased if individuals try to move money around in a bid to avoid detection and extending the penalty regime to include Inheritance Tax.

The announcement comes as the government publishes an update to its offshore evasion strategy, No Safe Havens. It will also publicise that HMRC is ready and able to financially reward whistleblowers for significant information that helps uncover offshore hidden untaxed assets.