Guest pelmetman Posted November 9, 2012 Posted November 9, 2012 ;-).................. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said it is studying a list of British HSBC customers in Jersey after a whistle blower handed over a list of names, addresses and account balances. The department will now investigate the customers’ details to establish whether any of them used the offshore accounts to evade tax. Together, the 4,388 UK-based customers have a total of £699m in the bank accounts - which were often undisclosed to tax authorities, the Daily Telegraph claimed. It said a number of criminals, former bankers, doctors, mining and oil workers, celebrities and other well-known figures are on the list. "We can confirm we have received the data and we are studying it," HMRC said in a statement. "We receive information from a very wide range of sources which we use to ensure the tax rules are being respected. "Clamping down on those who try to cheat the system through evading taxes and over claiming benefits is a top priority for us and we value the information we receive from the public and business community." HSBC, the UK's largest bank, said: "We are investigating the reports of an alleged loss of certain client data in Jersey as a matter of urgency. "We have not been notified of any investigation in relation to this matter by HMRC or any other authority but, should we receive notification, we will cooperate fully with the authorities. "HSBC remains fully committed to adoption of the highest global standards including the procedures for the acceptance of clients." The report comes after the bank set aside a further \$800m (£500m) to cover settlements for breaching anti-money-laundering rules, as revealed by Sky News' City Editor . The move takes its total bill to around \$1.5bn (£935m) to cover fines from US authorities, which are investigating the bank's procedures in Mexico. Tax authorities around the world are in the process of clamping down on people who evade taxes by putting their money offshore. Last week a Greek magazine published the details of more than 2,000 HSBC clients with Swiss accounts. The information came from a list distributed to European authorities in 2010 by Christine Lagarde, then France's finance minister, after a whistleblower in Geneva sold the details.
Archiesgrandad Posted November 9, 2012 Posted November 9, 2012 The best advice at the moment is " don't admit anything". AGD
Guest peter Posted November 9, 2012 Posted November 9, 2012 I'm with HSBC and my investments are doing very well. :D
Syd Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 Took my little pot out some time ago and quickly closed the account down :D
CliveH Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 As a point of Interest - I would not recommend anyone having a Bank account in any of the UK Dependencies - Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man. If you need an offshore bank account you are better off with one in an Offshore Finance centre such as Luxembourg or Dublin. With either of these two you have the full protection of having your money in an account within an EU country. And as we are EU Citizens this has several advantages re Investor Protection. With Jersey Guernsey and the Isle of Man you have an account in a UK Dependency - and if something goes wrong you have to deal with the UK Authorities that are not altogether pleased that people have these accounts to save on tax by achieving gross role-up of interest. If you needed to go to a higher level - you cannot as the EU has no jurisdiction. Conversely - if you use, say, Dublin and/or Luxembourg - the UK has no jurisdiction and the Investor protection provision is better. And do not think that you have to use Euros - you don't - GBP or $US accounts are available.
Dave225 Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 Not quite sure where some of this is coming from. A few years back all offshore accounts within Europe were subject to the EU tax laws which deducted tax at source on all offshore accounts. Initially you had the choice of paying 15% to the EU and your details were kept secret, or you could declare the accounts to the Revenue as normal. Latterly even this 'secrecy' option was withdrawn and all 'normal' offshore banks advised customers that their accounts would be communicated to the relevant tax authourities. However, they are still subject to the EU withholding tax. Having been an expat for many years I have had both Dollar and Euro accounts at various times. Keeping them offshore was easier as an expat. However, on return to the UK all these accounts are declared to the tax man and no problems have occurred. However, I do recommend that if you do have an offshore account then have available all bank statements going back at least 5 years as the Revenue will probably want to see them. Also if you do have these accounts, get an accountant.
Dave225 Posted November 12, 2012 Posted November 12, 2012 By the way one advantage for using a subsidiary of a UK bank was that you could get access to your money cash in hand a lot easier. For example if I wanted US dollars I could arrange it from Jersey and the same day collect the Dollar notes from the same bank here in the UK. Again there were times when I needed cash to travel to distant places. I know that nowadays transfers are a lot easier but I am talking back in the 90's when i started doing this.
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