Fiscal frontier – towards tax evasion detection

Monique van Herksen (+31 20 722 2325, monique.vanherksen@simmons-simmons.com) and Hatice Ismail (+44 20 7825 3977, hatice.ismail@simmons-simmons.com) work in the Financial Markets Practice Group of Simmons & Simmons LLP with a focus on tax, transfer pricing and reporting requirements.

Financial institutions are in the frontline of government crackdowns on tax evasion, with the offence a stated predicate under the Fourth EU ML Directive. Authorities expect firms to leverage their AML systems and controls to identify potentially abusive structures and transactional behaviour but there is currently no guidance on the questions to ask nor any standard industry approach to follow. All is not lost, though, as Monique van Herksen and Hatice Ismail of Simmons & Simmons, find useful pointers in the disclosure requirements that apply to tax intermediaries.