The government has launched a consultation on plans to give HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) access to new sources of information to help support its tax investigations. HMRC already has powers to collect data from businesses that process credit and debit card transactions, enabling it to identify traders not registered for tax but receiving income… Read more…

Payments made by HMRC to informants hit a new high of £605,000 in 2014-15, up from £402,000 in the previous tax year, suggesting that more tax investigations are on the way. The figures were revealed on 15 June by City law firm RPC, which said increasing public awareness of tax issues had led to more… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has highlighted its tough approach by paying surprise visits to businesses in Essex. HMRC officers targeted businesses in and around Southend-On-Sea on 15 May, including a car wash that was estimated to owe more than £250,000 in tax, including in income tax, national insurance and VAT. Caroline Benbrook of HMRC’s… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has issued updated guidance for landlords who let out residential property to help them get their tax affairs in order, as part of a campaign that could lead to new tax investigations. The Let Property Campaign was first launched in September 2013, when HMRC said it estimated that up to… Read more…

Chancellor George Osborne has used his final Budget speech to warn that the UK’s tolerance for people who fail to pay their fair share of tax “has come to an end”, signalling the likelihood of more tax investigations. He also unveiled a package of measures designed to continue the government’s crackdown on tax avoidance and… Read more…

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne says the 18 March Budget will include further action to tackle tax evasion and tax avoidance, which could trigger a further increase in tax investigations. Speaking in the Commons on 23 February, answering questions triggered by BBC1’s Panorama report on a tax scandal affecting HSBC’s Swiss subsidiary, Mr Osborne… Read more…

New research suggests that more entrepreneurs and professionals are coming under the scrutiny of specialist units at HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which could increase the chance of tax investigations. Law firm Pinsent Masons analysed data provided by HMRC and found that its Affluent Unit collected £137.2 million in additional tax from investigations in 2013-14,… Read more…

New research has found that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) took a record £3.9 billion in extra VAT from tax compliance investigations into small businesses in the 2013-14 financial year. The figure, which was ten per cent up on the £3.6 billion total for 2012-13, has shot up from £2.2 billion in the 2010-11 tax… Read more…

The 2014 Autumn Statement has contained new measures designed to continue the crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, which could lead to more tax investigations. The Autumn Statement document, published on 3 December, warns that the government will “continue to be relentless in tackling avoidance and aggressive tax planning where it arises within the UK”.… Read more…

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has sent notices to tax avoidance scheme users to pay over £250 million of disputed tax under its new Accelerated Payments regime. Accelerate Payments apply to avoidance schemes on an HMRC list and enables HMRC to demand upfront payment of tax while schemes remain in dispute with HMRC. More than 600… Read more…