UK authorities have failed to assess the scale of tax evasion from an estimated £570 billion held by British residents in overseas tax havens, according to a series of freedom of information requests.
The UK’s tax agency (HMRC) said it had received information from foreign banks showing that British residents held some £849bn in 6.4 million foreign accounts in 2019. Two-thirds of it - a similar amount to the annual GDP of Luxembourg - is held in tax havens.
But HMRC said it had not carried out any assessment of how much tax had been evaded by cross-checking with individuals’ annual returns. The admission comes as the UK grapples with a growing economic and cost-of living crisis with surging food and fuel prices.
“We have not produced or received any estimates, analysis or statistical information as to what proportion of the foreign financial accounts have been ‘properly disclosed’, nor can this be accurately inferred in the data we hold,” the agency said in its response to freedom of information requests by think tank Tax Policy Associates.
The UK has obtained data on sums held in foreign bank accounts since 2017 following the introduction of a system known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).
About 100 countries have signed up to exchange cross-border banking information following a series of tax avoidance scandals.
All British taxpayers — except for non-doms who only pay tax on UK income — have to declare income from foreign accounts on their annual tax returns.
The CRS programme has revealed large-scale offshoring with tax authorities worldwide, obtaining data on 84 million accounts held by their residents amounting to about €10 trillion in 2019, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The information about the £849bn came from the CRS, but critics said that the failure to analyse the information could allow tax evaders to slip through the gaps.
“The UK government’s failure to exploit data to combat offshore tax abuse of the richest households is ongoing during a period of rising child poverty and a host of other social ills,” said Alex Cobham, the chief executive of the Tax Justice Network, on Twitter.
“These are powerful choices with human consequences.”
Holding money in an offshore tax haven is not illegal and the majority of the cash is likely to be held there for legitimate purposes, said Dan Neidle, of Tax Policy Associates.
Hedge funds often set up in tax havens to avoid paying a form of double taxation.
“I expect a substantial part of the £570bn reflects fund holdings, and that almost all of this is properly declared to HMRC,” Mr Neidle wrote in a blog.
“What is clear is that HMRC have made no attempt to estimate the scale of the offshore tax evasion problem, or even determine if it is a problem,” he wrote.
HMRC has been approached for comment. It told the FT, which first reported the story, that it rejected claims that it was not checking the data.
“The CRS provides us with more of the critical information we need for our compliance activity and is playing a major role in helping us to tackle tax evasion and avoidance,” it told the newspaper.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Wednesday and the pair embraced but he failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Company name: Play:Date
Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day
Founder: Shamim Kassibawi
Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US
Sector: Tech
Size: 20 employees
Stage of funding: Seed
Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
