Offshore Unit Born

As part of their continuing fight against offshore tax evasion, HMRC has created the Offshore Co-Ordination Unit (OCU). This team of 100 will be composed of highly skilled offshore analysts, technical tax experts and experienced investigators, who will oversee and co-ordinate the Revenue's compliance work to identify and pursue those who secrete income and capital in offshore accounts with the purpose of evading UK tax and duties.

The OCU will have at its disposal an increasing amount of offshore data which it will use to develop innovative new ways to tackle offshore tax evasion.

The unit will look to build upon the limited success of HMRC's Liechenstein Disclosure Facilicity (LDF) and co-ordinate the recently announced activity in relation to HSBC Geneva account holders. It will also implement the operational aspects of the recently signed tax agreement between Switzerland and the UK, which the government hopes will raise additional revenue of billions of pounds.  

Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, commented, “The launch of this specialist unit, together with the other valuable work the department is driving forward in an effort to tackle offshore evasion, underlines the fact that offshore tax cheats are fast running out of places to hide.”