Darling clamps down on offshore tax evaders

The Chancellor is expected to double the maximum penalty to 200% of tax owed, in an effort to forestall the £1bn of revenue which government officials say is lost to tax evasion schemes every year. The fines are expected to have a wider scope than penalties announced in the PBR, applying to all offshore evasion. Labour intends to use the clampdown to help counter Tory criticism on tax rises which will usher in a new 50% top rate of income tax and a 2011 one-percentage-point rise in national insurance. It will also help underscore its political message the burden of tackling the £17...