GAAPWeb reports - Brits, many of which are worried about losing their off-shore investments to the tax collectors in light of the EU’s recent offshore tax haven crackdown, are being advised to seek the advice of their accountants. 

Many UK citizens are rethinking their asset protection and tax avoidance strategies. Under new EU plans, banks will be required to share with relevant taxation authorities, finance and  banking data relating to clients’ income.  The information up for grabs includes that from trusts capital gains and dividend payments.

Mike Warburton, accountant for Grant Thornton, told the newspaper that many people are stashing funds from offshore bank accounts in tax havens such as Dubai and Singapore, which are exempt from the rules.

“He explained: ‘These are sophisticated financial centres, they remain outside the rules for now and non-domiciles who genuinely want to keep their financial affairs secret may see some benefit in setting up vehicles in these countries.’”

According to the Daily Telegraph, last week, all but one of the 26 EU finance ministers voted for a  plan to tighten bank secrecy rules within the EU.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 9:24 pm and is filed under tax evasion, banking privacy, offshore bank account, Offshore Banking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.