HMRC’s worldwide disclosure facility opens on 5 September

HMRC has confirmed that it will open its worldwide disclosure facility (WDF) and online digital disclosure service for offshore liabilities on 5 September 2016. The announcement was made in August alongside the launch of its consultation on a new statutory ‘requirement to correct’ past offshore evasion and associated penalties. The government first announced plans for the WDF at Budget 2015, which will be available to anyone who is disclosing a UK tax liability that relates wholly or in part to an offshore issue. This will include:

·         income arising from a source outside the UK;

·         assets situated or held outside the UK;

·         activities carried on wholly or mainly outside the UK; or

·         where the funds connected to unpaid tax are transferred outside the UK.

Taxpayers using these services must first notify HMRC of their intention to make a disclosure, and will then have 90 days in which to make a full submission using their unique disclosure reference number.