As I may have mentioned before, I am a rather exotic creature: a combination of Alsatian – with typical Teutonic efficiency I can sense the postman when he’s at least three doors away so that I am ready to greet him with a ferocious bark as soon as he opens the front gate – and Saluki – an Arabian hunting dog (‘gazelle hound’ if you will) more accustomed to a life of luxury.

We are the only dogs not considered unclean by the Bedouin and are thus allowed in the tent, with our own cushion as I continually have to remind him indoors.

So given my ‘offshore’ origins, it was only natural that I should take an avid interest in HMRC’s recent announcement of  the launch of their offshore disclosure initiative, or ODI as I was about to abbreviate it. I say ‘was about to’, meaning that I was about to while I was reading the first sentence of their press release.

But that was before I got to the second sentence which describes this as ‘the new disclosure opportunity (NDO)’.

OK then: ODI, NDO – what’s a couple of letters between tax experts such as us? The main thing to remember is that this is not the ODF: you remember, the ‘offshore disclosure facility’ from 2007?

And it’s especially important not to confuse the two (or three) acronyms if you were written to by your friends in HMRC under the ODF. If you were, you will not be able to avail yourself of the special 10% penalty rate that will apply to others using the NDO (or ODI).

Old ODFers (like me, a fairly rare breed going by the tax collected) will be subject to a 20% penalty.

As HMRC say, this is ‘more favourable than normal whilst demonstrating that special rates once declined are unlikely to be repeated’. Once the NDO ‘offer’ is withdrawn next March, penalty rates of 30% to 100% will apply.

Well, they will unless there’s another ODF, NDO or ODI.

This is getting a little like his warnings to me when he finds me on the sofa. ‘Right that’s it; the next time I find you on there, you’re going to get a damn good thrashing.’

Yeah, right matey. Have you seen these teeth? Ask the postman.
It also reminds me of those ‘sale ending soon’ adverts I keep seeing. At those prices (‘save double’ now I see) he could buy me my own sofa. Is that damn furniture sale never going to end?

Remember, this offer from HMRC is ‘unlikely to be repeated’. Is that unlikely, most unlikely or highly unlikely, do you think?

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