The government is consulting on a new, tougher approach in tackling tax avoidance. A consultation was launched on 24 January, seeking views on proposals that would see HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) require the upfront payment of any disputed tax associated with schemes subject to the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime and taxpayers… Read more…

New research suggests that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) beat its target for tax investigation work by £2 billion in the last year. The analysis, published on 16 December, found that a record £20.7 billion in additional revenue was collected by HMRC through compliance work focused on tax avoidance and evasion in 2012-13, 11 per… Read more…

More people could find themselves the focus of tax investigations after Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said he would fund energy efficiency measures with a new crackdown on tax avoidance. Speaking on BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show on 1 December about how £1,000 grants to homebuyers and cuts to environmental levies on energy bills would… Read more…

Award-winning Birmingham-based chartered accountancy firm Salhan Accountants has launched its latest new service. Salhan Gold is a specialist service targeted at people with very substantial assets, including business owners, professionals working in sectors including law and medicine, those involved in sports and entertainment and people who have inherited significant sums. The service focuses on developing… Read more…

Chiropractors, chiropodists and acupuncturists who have not paid all the tax they owe are among the health professionals given until the end of the year to take a first step towards sorting out their tax affairs. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched its Health and Wellbeing Tax Plan on 7 October, offering health professionals who… Read more…

People in the Midlands with what HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) describes as “hidden wealth” could become the subject of tax investigations following the launch of a new wave of tax evasion taskforces. The initiatives, announced on 19 September, will also target specific business sectors and other locations across the UK, with HMRC inspectors paying… Read more…

Following a successful two-year pilot, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has announced that it will roll out its alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme small and medium-sized businesses and individuals on a permanent basis. The ADR scheme is specifically aimed at smaller cases where litigation may not be financially viable, for example, any case where between… Read more…

A six-month delay in a US initiative set to lead to more tax investigations has had a knock-on effect on a similar arrangement between the UK and Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) aims to combat tax evasion by US tax residents using foreign accounts. It requires financial… Read more…

A tax tribunal has ruled that PAYE tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) should have been paid on bonuses given to directors through companies set up just to be liquidated and pay out the cash, in a ruling that could trigger more tax investigations. Announcing the decision on 25 July, HM Revenue & Customs said… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new initiative to encourage more people to put their tax affairs in order, warning that they could face further investigation of their tax arrangements unless they do so. HMRC announced on 9 July that anyone who has failed to submit a tax return for any year up… Read more…