The FT reports:
Britons with billions of pounds hidden in Switzerland will pay tax at 50 per cent under a groundbreaking deal that will legitimise their undeclared assets, according to a source familiar with negotiations between the Swiss and British governments.
The agreement, which is expected to be announced this month, marks a shift in emphasis in the international crackdown on tax havens. Over the past two years, the focus has been on lifting bank secrecy and exposing evaders.
Under the deal, £3bn is expected to be raised over the course of this parliament and investors will also pay a one-off retrospective levy in recognition of past unpaid tax.
The move by the Swiss authorities to “regularise” hidden accounts by taxing them on behalf of the UK government is a sign of the intense pressure they have faced from cash-strapped foreign governments angered by the role of Swiss banks in facilitating evasion.
Britain's willingness to legitimise secret accounts on a “no names” basis is likely to be controversial because it will treat users of secretive havens more leniently than other taxpayers and because it tacitly accepts limits in the drive towards more transparency.
I've written about this grubby deal before.
It's not just a tacit acceptance of the limits to transparency.
And nor is it just blatant biased favouritism towards the criminals who have used Switzerland, and those who have assisted them in doing so.
It's not even that it's a massive slap in the face for honest British taxpayers who see those who have abused the rules walk away without penalty.
Worst of all, this deal outsources the collection of tax due in this country by British residents to another country. One that has a proven record of facilitating crime, and being utterly indifferent to it. And that has consciously and deliberately withheld information from other governments for decades.
And our ministers and our senior tax officials trust the Swiss depsite this.
Which says exactly why we should not rust those ministers and why HMRC's staff are right to have no confidence in those in charge of their organisation.
Only a fool would do such a deal. And that's what it seems we've got in charge.
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Lets just call it criminality AND and slap in the face for honest taxpayers shall we Richard, as that’s what it is. It shows just how comprehensively – and rapidly – the lunatics have taken over the asylum since the Tories got back into power. It also shows how pathetic and dishonest the claims are of Osborne, Alexander, Cable and co that they are cracking down on tax avoidance and why Oakeshot was right to resign. How Cable in particular can get out of bed in the morning and honestly believe he still retains any shred of ethical or moral credibility I do not know, what with this kind of ‘policy’ and the pathetic outcome of the so called Banking Commission.
[…] Murphy at Tax Research gives this grubby little deal the contempt it deserves. As he says: “It’s not just a tacit acceptance of the limits to […]
But look at how many new hospitals and schools can now be built with the tax to be collected which wouldn’t otherwise have been collected?
A tiny proportion of the number that could have been paid for with transparency
But let me not forget – you want the state to fail, don’t you?
If the state is going to prop up dictators, invade Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan, pay for a wedding of royal inbred cousins, prop up a rubbish olympics party for the sake of enriching the few, then yes I want that state to fail. It should be starved to realign it’s focus on health and education.
Apparently the state makes too much money to be able to afford this excessive financial masturbation, and has even enough cash to bail out ireland and greece.
So yah, fail state fail!
Let’s just call it a negotiated settlement or a compromise.
Option 1: Sabre Rattle, Froth At Mouth Like Richard, and NEVER collect any tax.
Option 2: Call the past a sunk cost, extract 50% of what you think you’ve lost.
what should be REALLY interesting is to see how much money can be raised from this tax amnesty. My bet is, that you and the TJN have over estimated all of your estimates, and there won’t be very much raised at all…
a) Even the OECD and WB seem to think we’ve underestimated now
b) But this deal won’t tell us – because we’re beholden on the Swiss and they’ll be under no obligation to tell the truth as there’s no power to check what they’re saying
That’s the price of dealing with criminals
Which makes me wonder what you’d have said of amnesties for, say, maybe simple common theft. After all – that’s what we’re talking about
Then I guess you’re so mad you defend the right of anyone to commit crime
Richard – where have the OECD or the WB released any estimate of the proceeds of this particular agreement? Have searched for it but could not find anything.
D
[…] Reputable jurisdiction = well known tax haven backed by the City of London now with the implicit support of the UK government who openly promote the interests of tax cheats. […]
[…] published on the Tax Research UK blog. Tags: Banking secrecy, Corruption, HMRC, Swiss, Switzerland, Tax Evasion, Tax Havens, […]