3 These measures are also aligned with the current political climate in which taxpayers are expected to pay their ‘fair share of tax’ and in which unprecedented international efforts to tackle tax avoidance and evasion are being undertaken. In particular, HMRC’s ‘No Safe Havens’ offshore evasion strategy for 2013 and beyond, the existing domestic offshore penalty regime, and international measures such as the OECD’s standard in automatic exchange of information (including the CRS), form the backdrop against which these measures have been introduced. Through the introduction of these provisions, the UK government is seeking to: o o o reduce the opportunities available for engaging in tax avoidance and evasion ensure voluntary compliance on the part of taxpayers, and impose harsh penalties on those who participate in, or facilitate offshore tax avoidance and evasion What is your assessment of the effect and practical implications of the measures? The effect on taxpayers of the proposed measures is intended to be two-fold: o o to act as a deterrent to those considering engaging in tax evasion, and to impose new and/or more robust sanctions on those who do engage in tax evasio HMRC’s current efforts to tackle tax avoidance and evasion have led to increased voluntary disclosures, additional tax revenues being raised and penalties being imposed. It should be anticipated that, with the increase in information to be made available to HMRC because of civil sanctions and the developing network of measures under which tax information is shared between national tax authorities, the measures proposed in FB 2016 will only further enhance HMRC’s ability to prevent, detect and penalise tax avoiders and evaders. Interviewed by Alex Heshmaty. The views expressed by our Legal Analysis interviewees are not necessarily those of the proprietor About LexisNexis | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies Policy Copyright © 2015 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. .