The value of on-shore trusts
On-shore trusts were very popular for family wealth planning until 2006, when inheritance tax law was changed. Until that date, the only transfers of assets into trust which incurred a charge to tax were transfers into discretionary trusts, which give trustees the right to select the beneficiaries. Now, any transfer into trust other than a […]
How HMRC catches cheats
The exchange of information between tax authorities referred to above focuses on offshore tax evasion, and a new £25,000 penalty can be imposed even if there is no intent to defraud HMRC. Leaks by disaffected employees of international financial institutions have implicated thousands of clients of those institutions. Through its ‘Connect’ computer system, HMRC analyses […]
New reporting rules for trusts
As part of a new crackdown on money laundering, rules were introduced recently which require trustees to provide HM Revenue & Customs with detailed information about the assets held in trusts and the identities of trustees and beneficiaries. The potential for the misuse of offshore trusts to avoid tax was highlighted in the Panama Papers […]