Friday 28 October 2022

The "Grey" Area - Avoidance vs Evasion


 

The Yorkshire Post reports that HMRC has individuals under criminal investigation for offences classified as relating to disguised remuneration and the loan charge.

A spokesman for HMRC made the comments in response to a joint report from the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Anti-Corruption & Responsible Tax and TaxWatch which recommended that HMRC changes its approach to enforcement by using existing criminal law to prosecute the advisers behind the most aggressive tax avoidance schemes.

The report argues that much that is claimed to be "legal" tax avoidance is actually criminal tax fraud.

An HMRC spokesperson said: 

“HMRC is committed to tackling tax avoidance schemes targeted at individuals and the amount lost through them has fallen by two thirds since 2013/14.

We continue to make it harder for promoters to sell tax avoidance schemes and to reduce demand, stepping up our efforts to warn individuals about the risks of being drawn in to avoidance, and helping them to get out of a scheme once they realise that they might be caught up in one.”

HMRC has not clarified how many "promoters" have been prosecuted.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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18 comments:

  1. About time these promoters of aggressive tax avoidance schemes face the full force of the law but I rather think that HMRC will only go after the low hanging fruit, as usual. Aggressive tax avoidance schemes, (according to HMRC) go against the spirit in which the tax laws were intended, so that's different to flagrantly breaking the law. About time HMRC get their heads around tax avoidance and tax evasion

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  2. Tax Avoidance is legal. Tax Evasion is Illegal.

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    Replies
    1. Not quite that simple, tax avoidance may or may not be legal until it is tested in court

      Delete
  3. Precisely. But something does not have to be illegal for HMRC to hammer an individual with hefty tax bills, penalties and interest. The point I was making is that promoters of aggressive tax avoidance schemes know exactly what they are doing from the get go and should actually be pursued for tax evasion but never are, yet the clients who rightly or wrongly become involved in said schemes gets hammered by HMRC. Said promoters tend to phoenix their company and rinse and repeat with another company.

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  4. Yes but HMRC do nothing about phoenix companies.
    If they dealt with the bullying, bigotry and misconduct within HMRC, rather than serious and vile behaviour going investigated and unpunished, perhaps they would have the tools to start doing the job properly.

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  5. My experiences as a "customer" of HMRC lead me to believe the organisation is not fit for purpose.

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    Replies
    1. My experience as an HMRC employee, which ended after I was violently bullied out to silence me after complaining about bullying, and for which I ultimately received a compensation payment, leaves me in no doubt that HMRC is not fit for purpose.

      Abolish HMRC and start again with a new tax department.

      And prosecute past offenders, some now happily retired and masquerading as decent members of society, to show them and others that nobody is above the law.

      Until then HMRC will continue to decay and will never gain the trust or confidence of compliant taxpayers who want to see avoidance and evasion dealt with.

      Delete
    2. If HMRC sort the root of the problem they become surplus to requirements, picking out and victimisation of the low hanging fruit ensures HMRC's work for eternity. HMRC are not as thick as they act.

      Delete
    3. HMRC would never be surplus to requirements. Even if everything was hunky-dory they would still be needed to collect the money and police the system.

      Delete
    4. My apologies, you are correct, however getting to the root of the problems would allow a significant reduction in staff required, the savings to the paying public would be enormous.

      Delete
  6. Can anyone confirm that HMRC internal Governance has referred an HMRC officer to the IOPC for investigation into lying while under oath to a jury and court of law? Perjury?

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    Replies
    1. Do a freedom of information request to their internal Governance department.

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    2. That's a good method of asking for information. Just be warned, from my personal experience, HMRC do manipulate Subject Access and FOI Requests to conceal the truth and fit their agenda. They really are corrupt to the core.

      Delete
    3. HMRC internal Governance has referred one of their own officers to the IOPC for investigation into lying to the court at a criminal trial. Rumour has it that HMRC's evidence exhibits is compelling evidence against this person.

      Delete
    4. Presumably the HMRC officer was being paid from the public purse when the offence of lying to a jury was committed. That is another fraudulent conduct offence that can be alleged for the officer to defend.

      Delete
    5. It's about time HMRC staff who lie in court proceedings, or create fabricated documents to cover the truth or invent lies to thwart potential legal proceedings, whether that be in cases involving taxpayers, or legal action instituted by bullied staff, are put before the courts and dealt with for:-

      - Perjury
      - Perverting the course of justice
      - Attempting to pervert the course of justice
      - Misconduct in Public Office
      - Offences under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005
      - Date protection offences

      And that should include the rotten people in HR!!

      The media should run an expose on the corruption at HMRC

      Delete
  7. HMRC are as corrupt as the people they investigate

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  8. Police officers fiddling applications to the force, politicians doing what they like, HMRC a law unto themselves and the public at the mercy of their corrupt conduct

    ReplyDelete