The UK’s overseas territories will have to publicise the real owners of all their registered companies by the end of 2020.
Without a vote, and in a bid to clamp down on tax havens, the new clause was added to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill in the House of Commons on 1 May 2018.
The new rules require the UK Government to “provide all reasonable assistance” to the UK’s Overseas Territories, including Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Turks and Caicos Islands and Montserrat, to set up public registers of beneficial ownership information of companies registered in each jurisdiction.
A separate appeal for the same laws to be handed down to the Crown Dependencies, including Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, was not heard.
Company law is a minefield of complex rules and regulations and the penalties for non-compliance are severe. Specialist tasks like these are best handled by experts.
At Beavis Morgan our corporate compliance team, headed by both fully qualified chartered accountants and a chartered secretary, offers a complete company secretarial service, designed to give you peace of mind that all these complexities are dealt with.
We can take away all the hassle of statutory compliance and help you keep abreast of all the latest developments, whilst providing all of the backup for statutory changes, compliance with the dividend regulations, officer appointments & resignations and so on. We also offer clients the opportunity to outsource their entire finance department.
To find out more about how we can help you keep on top of your obligations as a company director or company secretary, leaving you to concentrate on the day-to-day demands of running your business, please contact Jeremy Rogers in our specialist Cosec team, or your usual Beavis Morgan Partner.