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Government in talks to impose tax on new offshore accounts
The UK Government is entering into talks with three tax havens in an attempt to claw back billions of pounds in undeclared funds from British citizens.
The three new tax havens involved in the talks have not been identified, but the Financial Times has reported that Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man had all denied being approached by the Treasury.
The Treasury is hoping to raise £10bn over the next five years by imposing taxes on new deposits in foreign tax havens.
A deal signed in August 2009 with Liechtenstein was aimed at targeting £3bn in offshore accounts belonging to 5,000 British taxpayers, and Switzerland is soon expected to introduce a tax on new deposits by British citizens.
Chancellor George Osborne said: "We are all in this together, and that includes those who try and evade tax. We are in the process of striking a deal with Switzerland and more deals will follow. In total, this will raise many billions of pounds which the previous government failed to do. This is tough but fair."