Tax evasion is the deliberate and fraudulent misrepresentation of information so as to not pay tax. Tax evasion is illegal and differs from tax avoidance, which is the legal structuring of tax affairs to minimise payable tax.
Tax evasion generally includes the deliberate concealment or misrepresentation of beneficial ownership of assets, income and gains, or otherwise fraudulent conduct, designed to divert money from the public revenue. Failure to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion is a corporate criminal offence under the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
Market participants should consider how their associated persons, may facilitate tax evasion when performing services for or on their behalf and ensure that there are appropriate controls in place to prevent or mitigate this to an acceptable level.
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