As reported, the deal, whereby the UK will begin to tax the secret bank accounts held by UK taxpayers, without requiring the Swiss institutions with whom the accounts are held to reveal the individuals’ identities.
Under the agreement, which was approved by the Swiss parliament in June, offshore bank account holders will be expected to either make a one-off payment by 31 May 2013 that would clear all past, unpaid tax liabilities, or to pay a withholding tax on any future income and gains accrued from 1 January.
They also have the option of making a full and open disclosure to the Revenue, or use the Liechtenstein disclosure facility to settle their outstanding tax affairs.
Frank Strachan, a tax partner at the London law firm Edwin Coe and an expert on HMRC disclosure regulations, says anyone who still has undeclared assets in Swiss accounts "should take action to regularise these assets without delay".
"In most cases, for UK resident and domiciled taxpayers, failure to take action will result in punitive levels of funds being withdrawn from the accounts and paid over to the UK by the Swiss," he adds.
The new HMRC Swiss/UK tax factsheet is described as supplementing a Frequently Asked Questions document published at the time of the signing of the agreement, and available by clicking here.
To view the factsheet, click here.
