Rubik accords - Osborne's anon tax on illegal Swiss accounts

[Whitehall_Bin_Men]

£5billion tax raid on British fortunes in Swiss banks... but we will never know identities of 'tax avoiders'

HMRC to claw back money British investors have hidden in Swiss banks

By JAMES SALMON
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255516/5billion-tax-raid-Brit ish-bank-fortunes-Swiss-banks--know-identities-tax-avoiders.html

PUBLISHED: 00:56, 1 January 2013 | UPDATED: 01:23, 1 January 2013

Thousands of wealthy British investors hiding money in Swiss bank accounts will finally be forced to pay billions in unpaid tax under a deal that comes into force today. Under the settlement between UK and Swiss authorities, an estimated £5billion will be clawed back and handed to HMRC over the next six years. The deal, signed in 2011, was hailed as the largest tax evasion settlement in UK history by Chancellor George Osborne. However last night critics attacked the deal as shielding ‘criminal tax avoiders’ – because they will be allowed to remain anonymous to HMRC as long as they pay what they owed in the first place. The actual number affected by the deal is unknown because Swiss banks are notoriously secretive about clients – but they are likely to include anyone from investment bankers to celebrities and criminals. The rich, many of whom have been hiding their wealth for decades, will see unpaid tax deducted from profits on investments and savings at the end of May. At the end of May they will be given a final chance to disclose their affairs and pay what they owe. If they do not, the money will be deducted automatically by Swiss authorities and repatriated to the UK.

The charge will be based on the amount of years the money has been hidden, the type of income and the prevailing tax rate in the UK and will range from 21 per cent to 41 per cent. It is estimated the move affects £40billion of assets held in Swiss accounts by British investors. But tax campaigner Richard Murphy said: ‘Honest taxpayers are seeing criminals who broke the law being allowed to wipe the slate clean.’ ‘They should be forced to pay penalties and hand back interest on money they have kept illegally.’ ‘A similar agreement was rejected by the German parliament in November due to concerns that tax evaders would be able to retain their anonymity.’

Comments (117) The comments below have not been moderated.

Splash their photos all over the website like you have the couples with large families. I'm sure these parasites have spirited away far more over the years than your favourite targets will ever see in their lifetimes.

- Andy , Halifax, 01/1/2013 15:13

NAME these people, or are some of them MP'S?

- vpharm , Hampshire, 01/1/2013 15:13

The smart money left years ago what a load of tosh

- tierraman , Buenos Aires, 01/1/2013 14:59

You won't know their identities because they are all Labour, socialist, and communist party members. We must protect them, don't you know. After all they aren't evil capitalist.

- Lars , San Antonio, 01/1/2013 14:52

I doubt this will raise 5p let alone £5 billion after dopey Gideon gave them all 18 months notice to shift their money elsewhere. More smoke and mirrors from the Smoke & Mirrors Party. - The truth is out , Somewhere, 01/1/2013 13:37 ******************* This is just your assumption as you never have a good word for Osborne do you? However at least he has tried and has done more in just over 2 years than dopey Gormless Brown did in 13, of course Brown was also happy to allow the bankers to have their obscene bonuses on top of their salaries year after year and still ONLY taxed them at 40%, now why would a Socialist Chancellor do that I wonder?

- Yvonne , West Midlands, United Kingdom, 01/1/2013 14:37

And what about the Caymen islands and other off shore banks ??

- jenny-yorks , yorks, United Kingdom, 01/1/2013 14:21

What would be the point of identifying them, they will pay the tax and that's it, -Peter Hartley , Vic Fezensac, France, 01/1/2013 13:00 ====== What planet are on Peter,- ' they will pay the tax and that's it ' - If these un-named people are clever enough to hide their money away for decades, don't you think they'll be clever enough to transfer their money out of Switzerland before the May deadline. They have had since 2011 to do it. They won't pay a penny more tax because of this.

- Chas , Ex-pat, Bulgaria, 01/1/2013 14:15

I doubt this will raise 5p let alone £5 billion after dopey Gideon gave them all 18 months notice to shift their money elsewhere. More smoke and mirrors from the Smoke & Mirrors Party.

- The truth is out , Somewhere, 01/1/2013 13:37

This has been going on for decades. People who could translate earnings into cash -especially easy if you run a business that takes cash - can smuggle the money out in luggage. It's never checked. Over decades they can take out vast sums of money and put it in Swiss bank accounts. I know because I was the partner of someone who did that. And he's a big name in the City. And earning £14 million a year.

- cwjones , london, 01/1/2013 13:31

I don't blame tax avoiders; 1. Politicians waste tax revenues as if it's their own money; 2. Tax avoidance is perfectly legal; 3. Politicians' expense fiddles and 'main residence' flipping does not put them in a position to throw stones.

- Paul , MK

[TonyGosling]

£5billion tax raid on British fortunes in Swiss banks... but we will never know identities of 'tax avoiders'
•HMRC to claw back money British investors have hidden in Swiss banks
By James Salmon
PUBLISHED: 00:56, 1 January 2013 | UPDATED: 01:23, 1 January 2013
Comments (127) Share
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255516/5billion-tax-raid-Brit ish-bank-fortunes-Swiss-banks--know-identities-tax-avoiders.html?ito=f eeds-newsxml
Thousands of wealthy British investors hiding money in Swiss bank accounts will finally be forced to pay billions in unpaid tax under a deal that comes into force today.

Under the settlement between UK and Swiss authorities, an estimated £5billion will be clawed back and handed to HMRC over the next six years.

The deal, signed in 2011, was hailed as the largest tax evasion settlement in UK history by Chancellor George Osborne.

However last night critics attacked the deal as shielding ‘criminal tax avoiders’ – because they will be allowed to remain anonymous to HMRC as long as they pay what they owed in the first place.

The actual number affected by the deal is unknown because Swiss banks are notoriously secretive about clients – but they are likely to include anyone from investment bankers to celebrities and criminals.
The rich, many of whom have been hiding their wealth for decades, will see unpaid tax deducted from profits on investments and savings at the end of May.
At the end of May they will be given a final chance to disclose their affairs and pay what they owe.

If they do not, the money will be deducted automatically by Swiss authorities and repatriated to the UK.
More...•Labour's tax credit system was wide open to fraud, says Iain Duncan Smith as he accuses party of haemorrhaging £10billion
•200 families claiming housing benefit have 10 or more children as taxpayers face £150million bill for 'benefit broods'

The charge will be based on the amount of years the money has been hidden, the type of income and the prevailing tax rate in the UK and will range from 21 per cent to 41 per cent.

It is estimated the move affects £40billion of assets held in Swiss accounts by British investors.

But tax campaigner Richard Murphy said: ‘Honest taxpayers are seeing criminals who broke the law being allowed to wipe the slate clean.’
‘They should be forced to pay penalties and hand back interest on money they have kept illegally.’
‘A similar agreement was rejected by the German parliament in November due to concerns that tax evaders would be able to retain their anonymity.’

[TonyGosling]

British receive initial funds from tax deal
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/British_receive_initial_funds_fro m_tax_deal.html?cid=34867206
Jan 30, 2013 - 14:49

The Swiss authorities have confirmed that they have transferred SFr500 million (£340 million) to Britain as part of an upfront payment included in a deal designed to tackle tax evasion that could net the British billions over the next six years.

Switzerland agreed with Britain last year to impose a one-off levy on money in Britons' undeclared Swiss bank accounts and to tax future interest payments, with effect from January 1.

“Switzerland thereby fulfilled an obligation which is set out in the bilateral withholding tax agreement,” the Swiss finance ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. “The upfront payment guarantees the United Kingdom a minimum amount from as yet untaxed assets of UK taxpayers in Switzerland.”

The money was paid by Swiss banks to the Federal Tax Administration, which then completed the transfer to the British authorities. Another SFr800 million are still outstanding, and the total will be reimbursed to the banks once the withholding tax collected by them reaches the equivalent of SFr1.3 billion.

Austria, which signed a similar deal to the British that became effective on January 1, will not receive an upfront payment. Germany rejected a similar deal after its Senate turned down the so-called Rubik agreement with the Swiss.
Rubik agreements

Tax deals, known as Rubik accords, have been approved so far only with Britain and Austria.

Negotiations for agreements are underway with Greece and Italy, although it is unclear when accords might be signed. The Swiss finance ministry has indicated other European nations and other countries have expressed an interest in similar deals.

The Rubik principle was devised by the Association of Foreign Banks in Switzerland. The idea behind it is to separate income from wealth and hand over tax at the source to third countries, while keeping the Swiss bank account holder's anonymity.

The inventors of the system say this strategy will also afford more protection to foreign bank employees in Switzerland from legal action by third countries.

It is hoped that guaranteed anonymity will encourage foreigners with assets being managed in Swiss banks not to close their accounts.
Pressure

All British and Austrian taxpayers with a bank account or securities deposits in Switzerland have the option of either disclosing their assets to their respective tax authorities, or paying the withholding tax deducted from their accounts and transferred anonymously back home.

Switzerland has been under pressure from the United States, Germany and Britain to clean up its private banking system, which has allowed many wealthy foreign nationals to avoid tax due to its tradition of bank secrecy.

British Chancellor (finance minister) George Osborne told parliament in London on Tuesday that a first tranche had been paid off.

"Last night HMRC [UK tax authorities] received £340 million pounds from the Swiss government, in the first installment of a deal we have struck," he said.

"[This is] the first time in our history that money due in taxes has flowed to this country from Switzerland, rather than the other way round," he added.

Osborne gave the information as he was facing criticism about his fiscal plans, which are already two years behind on their original goal of eliminating the country's structural budget deficit by 2015.

The £340 million is a shade over the £330 million estimated to come from this source during the current tax year. Over £3.1 billion is expected in the next tax year from Switzerland, and total tax receipts out to 2017-2018 are seen at just over £5 billion, all which should serve to fund economic growth.

Britain has made tackling tax avoidance by companies as well as individuals a priority for its presidency this year of the G8 group of major advanced economies.