Offshore accounts

[Khandro]

If a sum of money is deposited in an offshore (Isle of Man) account by a UK taxpayer and interest on it is paid gross, does the bank automatically inform the British Inland Revenue of the fact and what the amount paid is?

[dzug]

Does it matter? You have to pay tax on it anyway.

Or are you proposing to defraud the revenue and your fellow tax payers?

[Naomicorlett]

No they do not automatically inform Inland Revenue but are required to disclose if asked. But the man at Iom Gov told me that IRS always find out. I live on Isle of Man and was transferring my parents' bequests into an IOM bank account for a benificary residing in and subject to British tax.

[Khandro]

Thanks, and in answer to the first post, I'm not planning to defraud anybody. There is a lot of bad feelings between Germany and Switzerland at the moment regarding German nationals holding Swiss bank accounts, I can see the reason for this, but the question arises, What is the advantage of UK taxpayers holding offshore accounts if it is so accessable to the Inland Revenue, and why was G.Brown so het up about them recently, claiming huge sums of tax was going unpaid?