Wednesday 16 December 2020

HMRC's Offshore Debt Collection Racket

 


The Times reports that debt collection firms hired by HMRC and local councils include some that have owners based in tax havens, eg LCS owned by Anderw Barclay who based in Jersey.

Another of the companies is owned by a family that ran a notorious payday loan firm.

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18 comments:

  1. Absolutely nothing surprises me about HMRC. They spend a fortune on clamping down on avoidance schemes then use companies owned by avoiders to catch avoiders. HMRC you are legendary!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tax debt is not the same as tax avoidance.
      Tax avoidance is not illegal.
      Living in a 'tax haven' is not illegal.
      All in all a little bit of a non-story.

      Delete
  2. Where does anyone state that tax avoidance is illegal? People owing tax to the point of debt recovery being used are avoiding paying tax..right? As stated by HMRC on many occasions, avoidance is not against the law, it is against the spirit of the law!(A whole new gigantic grey area there then).
    The irony of the story is that one of the firms employed to chase tax monies is registered in a tax haven and has paid next to no tax over the past decade. Class!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Who's saying that tax avoidance or operating from a tax haven are illegal. Aggressive tax avoidance in the eyes of government and HMRC is that it is against the spirit of the law, (plenty of grey areas there). If debt recovery are involved then those being chased have avoided paying their taxes couple that with a company that has avoided paying taxes for the last decade..oh the irony

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're playing with words.
      We both know that not paying tax because you haven't got the money, although leaving yourself open to criticism and punitive action, is not the same as deliberately entering an avoidance scheme.
      So your using the "companies owned by avoiders to catch avoiders" analogy hardly rings true.
      But I do wholeheartedly agree that companies sub-contracted to do work on behalf of the government should be whiter than white.

      Delete
  4. Tax avoidance and avoiding paying tax, same end result, taxman wants his money. In keeping with the shambles that is HMRC they use the services of a company based in a tax haven that has paid next to nothing in tax for a decade to chase tax payers not paying their taxes...class!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The companies are based in the UK, it is the owners who are based abroad.
      Therefore the companies will be subject to paying Corporation Tax, VAT, NI etc in the UK.

      Delete
    2. If you read the story it clearly states that the BUSINESS has paid next to no tax for a decade despite very healthy revenues.

      Delete
    3. The business, 1st Locate (UK) Ltd, is registered in the UK and will therefore pay whatever tax is due under UK law.

      Delete
  5. The Times would presumably have the facts to make their claims, how do you know that the company has paid all UK taxes due? Some proof of your statement would be appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your post of 22/12 states that according to The Times the business has paid next to no tax for a decade.
    The phrase "next to no tax" is obviously fairly contentious as different people will interprate it's meaning differently - for one person it will be £10,for another £10m.
    If the business has not paid the correct amounts of tax over the years it will be subject to intervention by HMRC the same as any other taxpayer. If The Times has any evidence of wrongdoing I am sure they would have let us know. Easier to write a snide, innuendo-ridden article about a business whose owner is related to the owners of a rival newspaper.
    Some it helps to look at the big picture.

    ReplyDelete
  7. And of course I am going by what the Times has reported, once again why not back up YOUR claim that the company concerned will have paid all UK taxes due? Love your 'conspiracy' theory lol. Just like your claim of the company paying the correct taxes, how do you know that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Because to have evaded tax would have been a criminal offence and in the absence of any evidence to the contrary it is normal to assume that this did not happen. If The Times has such evidence they can always put it in the public domain.
      If they have legally avoided tax then this is not 'tax due'.
      Andrew Barclay is related to the Barclay brothers, owners of the Telegraph Group.

      Delete
  8. Who mentioned Tax Evasion? Do you not see the irony of a company owned by an individual residing in a tax haven, a company that has paid very little tax for years (according to the Times), possibly due to sharp practice by accountants? aka tax avoidance, perfectly legal though against the spirit of the tax laws set down and the tax authority of the land (HMRC shambles) using the services of this company to heavy handedly chase people who haven't paid their taxes? Absolute class!

    ReplyDelete
  9. The B Brothers who you state are related to the character in the Times story seem also to have a questionable attitude when it comes to paying taxes with multiple accusations of tax avoidance over the years. I suppose it's a case of the apples not falling far from the tree, must be a family disease. Check the Brothers out on Wikipedia, not my words and not the Times words!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I remember a certain building managment firm Mapeley / Salisbury that was off shore and HMRC were in bed with in their tax haven. Hence building closures be to escape the contracts. HMRC has form.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recall the Minister in charge of IR and C&E at the time, Dawn Primarola, being incandescent with rage as she was told that the contract was with Mapeleys UK and not Mapeleys Bermuda.
      I thought at the time that those senior civil servants who lied to her/withheld information should have their personal finances investigated. Needless to say, no chance.
      Private Eye published a special pull-out edition on the scandal but none of the nationals took it up.

      Delete
  11. Indeed, Madeley has featured many times on this site. Use search function to see articles

    ReplyDelete