# Spain joins worldwide crackdown on secret offshore bank accounts



## Editor (Aug 20, 2009)

The Spanish tax authorities are investigating the holders of about 3,000 secret bank accounts in Switzerland*over possible unpaid taxes, it has been confirmed. Spain is the latest country to crackdown on citizens and expats who officials belief have offshore accounts*in order to avoid paying tax. It is part of a worldwide crackdown on tax havens. ‘Our fight [...]

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Please come back to discuss the story here in this thread.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Yet there are still people on the forums that think that this is an acceptable way to "hide" their money with no risk


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Stravinsky said:


> Yet there are still people on the forums that think that this is an acceptable way to "hide" their money with no risk


People who _really_ have their money in off shore accounts KNOW that it isnt acceptable and dont mention it, nor will they mention now that they're panicking lol

Jo xxx


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

Well, people get confused between tax evasion and tax reduction I can only guess. More often than not it all comes back to bite you in the ass


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## timr (Feb 1, 2010)

Stravinsky said:


> Well, people get confused between tax evasion and tax reduction I can only guess. More often than not it all comes back to bite you in the ass


Be interesting to see who´s on the list ? Might be one or two politicians with a few questions to answer.


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

jojo said:


> People who _really_ have their money in off shore accounts KNOW that it isnt acceptable and dont mention it, nor will they mention now that they're panicking lol
> 
> Jo xxx


Most EU based offshore accounts operate quite legally within EU guidelines which were altered about four years back, and have for the last few years ensured that any tax due on accounts is paid by one of two options.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

littleredrooster said:


> Most EU based offshore accounts operate quite legally within EU guidelines which were altered about four years back, and have for the last few years ensured that any tax due on accounts is paid by one of two options.



Ensured or advised???


Jo xxx


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

jojo said:


> Ensured or advised???
> 
> 
> Jo xxx



Ensured.
They either deduct tax at source and forward to country of residency, or ensure transparency to the appropriate tax authority.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

There is a lot of ignorance and misapprehension about offshore accounts. I have two offshore accounts with British High Street banks. You can open such accounts with as little as £100.
The days when such accounts were for the mega-rich or Mafiosi are long gone. My OH has just invested money in a British bank offshore investment fund as the interest rate on offer is good, considering current times. All tax due is deducted at source as there are agreements with UK and other Governments to enable this.
The reason I and most other immigrants of comparatively modest means is simply for convenience. If you move from one country to another it's simpler to have your UK income paid into an offshore bank, especially if you have easy access to Gibraltar, where many UK offshore banks have branches.
If I were mega rich and wanted to avoid tax I wouldn't bother with such offshore banks - I'd put my money in a state with minimal tax requirements such as Latvia (Tony Blair) or Belize (Lord Ashcroft).


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

littleredrooster said:


> Ensured.
> They either deduct tax at source and forward to country of residency, or ensure transparency to the appropriate tax authority.


All tax due on my offshore accounts is deducted at source, as you say. 
It's interesting though how this question of tax evasion (not reduction, which is legitimate and sensible if you can afford a good accountant) is viewed by most people.
Like most people,I've done a few things I probably shouldn't have but I can put hand on heart and say that in business and private life we have never avoided paying tax due. Customers who offered cash hoping for a discount via VAT skimmed off were told 'Sorry, everything here goes through the books'. Tax was paid on rents, investments such as they were, the lot. To me benefit cheats and tax evaders are one and the same.
Yet this kind of petty tax evasion is seen by a lot of people as 'fair game'.
Big time evaders like Lord Ashcroft rightly get a lot of stick but I seem to remember a Biblical verse about motes and beams?


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## littleredrooster (Aug 3, 2008)

mrypg9 said:


> There is a lot of ignorance and misapprehension about offshore accounts. I have two offshore accounts with British High Street banks. You can open such accounts with as little as £100.
> The days when such accounts were for the mega-rich or Mafiosi are long gone. My OH has just invested money in a British bank offshore investment fund as the interest rate on offer is good, considering current times. All tax due is deducted at source as there are agreements with UK and other Governments to enable this.
> The reason I and most other immigrants of comparatively modest means is simply for convenience. If you move from one country to another it's simpler to have your UK income paid into an offshore bank, especially if you have easy access to Gibraltar, where many UK offshore banks have branches.
> If I were mega rich and wanted to avoid tax I wouldn't bother with such offshore banks - I'd put my money in a state with minimal tax requirements such as Latvia (Tony Blair) or Belize (Lord Ashcroft).


Quite agree with all you say.
I can't understand why so many ppl. presume that all offshore accounts are immoral,illegal or used for suspect purposes.
There are many genuine reasons why they are still popular, despite the tax clamp down.
Anyone wanting to avoid tax would be ill advised to use offshore accounts as they are run today.
The legal requirements and disclosures now required to open offshore accounts are probably now much greater than those applicable to a normal high street bank.
Even Switzerland which has been one of the greyer areas for many years, has being forced to step in line.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

littleredrooster said:


> Quite agree with all you say.
> I can't understand why so many ppl. presume that all offshore accounts are immoral,illegal or used for suspect purposes.
> There are many genuine reasons why they are still popular, despite the tax clamp down.
> Anyone wanting to avoid tax would be ill advised to use offshore accounts as they are run today.
> ...


The chief reason I opened an offshore account was because of the inefficiency and expense of Czech banks. At that time I was receiving quite a few sterling cheques of varying amounts and I was charged a hefty percentage with a minimum fee of £15 equivalent each time I paid in a cheque to my sterling account with my Czech bank. Charges in general 
were also expensive and service at both banks I had accounts in was poor.
I couldn't see the point of retaining a UK based account as I knew I wouldn't be living in the UK again and for all practical purposes a UK offshore account is the same as an onshore bank. I have credit/debit cards, can hold accounts in a variety of currencies open savings accounts etc.
Opening the accounts was a nightmare since as you say procedures are more stringent than at most UK high street banks. I had to produce six months of bank statements, full proof of sources of income, get a copy of my passport signed by someone from a list of 'officials' - senior civil servants, bank managers, judges etc.
This was not easy as it is actually an offence in the CR to sign a photocopy of a document.
I've got accounts with a Spanish bank for every-day transactions but my offshore accounts are cheap to run -around £70 per annum inclusive -and offer savings rates higher than those in the UK or Spain.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

littleredrooster said:


> Quite agree with all you say.
> I can't understand why so many ppl. presume that all offshore accounts are immoral,illegal or used for suspect purposes.


I don't personally, and why would anyone anyway, it's just another form of banking ...... however when people come on forums extolling the virtue of offshore banking telling people that they will be free of taxes because of them, then it should be mentioned that it is no longer necessarily the case.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

Stravinsky said:


> I don't personally, and why would anyone anyway, it's just another form of banking ...... however when people come on forums extolling the virtue of offshore banking telling people that they will be free of taxes because of them, then it should be mentioned that it is no longer necessarily the case.


Anyone who tells people you don't pay taxes with an offshore account clearly has no experience of offshore accounts.
Unless they're talking about accounts held in countries such as Lithuania, Bulgaria etc. as I seem to recollect my would-be big-shot entrepreneur acquaintance from the CR did once....
I seem to remember being advised to set up an offshore company if I ever intended to purchase property in Spain...which I don't.


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