Tax Avoidance Schemes Too Good To Be True?
HMRC is warning that if a tax avoidance scheme sounds too good to be true, then it probably is! HMRC’s powers to crack down and recoup revenues lost through tax avoidance schemes have grown significantly over the last couple of years, as we’ve reported from time to time over on the Tax Blog. Starting this month, HMRC will begin targeting the 33,000 individuals and 10,000 companies which they believe have been using one or more of the 1200 tax avoidance schemes it identified, following the recent inception of the Finance Act and the resulting ‘Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme‘ (DOTAS) disclosures. Those who have used these questionable schemes are likely to fall foul of the ‘accelerated payment’ requirements which the new Finance Act allows HMRC to demand. With some schemes reportedly dating back to 2004, some are in for a very hefty bill.
In a similar move, anyone who holds funds in an offshore account and fails to declare them to HMRC may soon be officially committing a criminal offence and could face the real prospect of a prison sentence. Under the proposed new plans, financial penalties could be unlimited and Read more