Autumn Statement: Government introduces additional offshore notification requirement

The chancellor's full Autumn Statement said: "the government will consult on a new legal requirement for intermediaries arranging complex structures for clients holding money offshore to notify HMRC of the structures and the related client lists."

Tax expert Jason Collins of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said that this new reporting requirement largely duplicates the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). "The CRS is a step taken by countries in unison. This is a step taken by HMRC on its own – and another example of the UK wanting to drive the agenda," he said.

“This will potentially affect lawyers, accountants, banks, fund providers and trust and company service providers, located both in the UK and overseas," said Collins. "HMRC is also pressing ahead with the widely criticised plans to penalise those who ‘enable’ another person’s avoidance where HMRC ‘defeats’ the avoidance, in court or otherwise.”

Collins said that when the government consulted on the new requirement for 'enablers' the "almost universal" response from advisers and banks was that the measure was too broad and too aggressive.

"It is hoped that the penalty will only apply to avoidance dreamt up by promoters and mass-marketed to taxpayers, rather than a taxpayer taking bespoke professional tax advice on their individual circumstances," he said. "If it applies to the latter, you will have trouble finding anyone willing to give tax advice anymore, and that would be unacceptable and counterproductive.”