Facilitation of tax evasion

From September 2017, organisations are criminally liable where they fail to prevent certain individuals from criminally facilitating tax evasion in the UK or abroad. There are two separate offences relating to facilitation of tax evasion in the UK and tax evasion overseas.

Key points

• Organisations who fail to prevent individuals criminally facilitating tax evasion, both in the UK and abroad, can be criminally liable. 
• Offence in the UK: Where the relevant organisation is guilty if a person commits a UK tax evasion facilitation offence when acting in the capacity of a person associated with that organisation.
• Overseas: Where a body incorporated, or a partnership formed, under the law of any part of the UK which carries on business or part of a business in the UK and that any conduct constituting part of the foreign tax evasion facilitation offence takes place in this country.
• Those associated with the organisation includes employees, agents, sub-contractors and subsidiaries. 
• Defence of reasonable prevention measures is available against liability, but only where they have been taken or it was not reasonable to have them in place. 
• Individuals can also be liable for tax fraud.