Bowman Offshore Bank Transfers Offshore bank accounts: 10 things you should know

     The ability to earn more interest. Access to foreign investments. Access to foreign banking products and services. Greater privacy, for example, a business looking to protect its trade secrets. For large, well-known businesses, offshore accounts can protect against the risk of overcharging by suppliers. 4. Opening an account and making deposits The process for opening an offshore bank account will vary depending on the financial institution. In most cases you will need to provide your passport, a bank statement and a signed declaration about the source of the funds being used to open your account. Deposits can be made by international money transfer. 5. Harsh penalties apply to non-declaration For some, the temptation to simply not declare their offshore accounts and therefore avoid paying tax is too great. In other circumstances, such as for some of the high-profile figures caught up in the Panama Papers Scandal, offshore accounts are used to finance illegal activity or manage the unlawful income obtained from such activities, which is hardly something the average taxpayer wants to include on their next tax return. Whatever the case may be, failing to declare your offshore account to the ATO is a big no-no and harsh penalties apply. Penalties start at around 75 per cent of the unpaid tax on those foreign earnings, plus interest, and there is always the potential for further investigation and prosecution by the Australian Federal Police or the Department of Public Prosecutions. 6. Tax havens What do you get when you combine low tax rates, a stable political and economic climate, and a local regime that’s reluctant to disclose any information to foreign tax authorities? You get a tax haven, a country that attracts money from wealthy people and large corporations all around the world that are looking to reduce their tax bill any way they can. The Seychelles, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Switzerland and, until recently, Panama are all attractive destinations for money from all corners of the globe. By setting up a bank account in a country that does not have an agreement to exchange financial information with Australia, an Australian taxpayer could theoretically avoid being taxed on the money in that account. In more complex cases, a dodgy taxpayer could set up a foreign shell company to conceal the true owner of money or other assets and make it even more difficult for the ATO to catch up with them. 7. The ATO and undisclosed accounts In recent years, the ATO has dedicated plenty of time and resources to hunting down tax evaders all over the world, as people like Paul Hogan can testify. It’s also committed an increasing amount of resources to targeting wealthy Australians with undeclared income in offshore accounts, establishing agreements with governments and major financial institutions around the world.

Bowman Offshore Bank Transfers Offshore bank accounts: 10 things you should know | Page 2