High Net Worth

The Sunday Times has a slightly "shouty" headline "Taxman targets exiles who keep UK toehold":

"RICH Britons who claim to have moved overseas could find themselves back in the clutches of the taxman if they have hung on to a car, a mobile phone number or even a golf club membership in the UK."

The article goes on to explain that HMRC's "new high net worth unit, which monitors the tax contributions of the country’s wealthiest 5,000 people, will examine the non-residency claims of the super-rich."

All very well maybe, the unit may be new, but the principle of "severing ties" is not new. I well recall my tax studies (when I was young, bright eyed and bushy tailed) whereby we were taught that those who claimed to be exiles had to demonstrate that they had fully left the country (eg by rescinding club memberships).

It seems that the rules haven't changed so much, but that the "alertness" of HMRC (in the face of the reality of Brown's Bankrupt Britain) has.

As to whether this new found "alertness" and "zeal" will benefit the country's finances in the long term or not remains to be seen.

Most certainly those classified as "super rich" will avoid the UK like the plague, as they have no intention of paying 50% tax.

Whilst this may provide some people with a certain schadenfreude, it will not in the long run do our country any good wrt attracting/keeping high achievers. These are the people, who through their energies and ambitions, build businesses that make significant contributions to the nation.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

HMRC's Massive Extension

In a clear admission of defeat, and as a result of protests by banks over the workload involved in informing on their customers, HMRC have extended their deadline for taxpayers to register their offshore holdings from the end of this month to January 4 2010.

Seemingly the fish are not yet scared enough to jump into HMRC's net.

However, in a reflection of the government's anti bank hysteria, HMRC are pushing the banks to speed up wrt providing information about customers' offshore accounts.

January 4 will be the final deadline to "sign up" for the amnesty on unpaid tax from foreign accounts.

Absolutely the final deadline, honest!

Clearly the top bods in HMRC are sweating, as the promises they made to Brown and Darling about how much money this amnesty would bring in are not being fulfilled.

Failure could mean that the top bods might find themselves out of a job, something that up until now only happens to the lower orders within HMRC!

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

A Spanking of Laziness

HMRC have got themselves in hot water over a blanket mailshot of around 30,000 letters, re offshore accounts, some of which were sent to the wrong people.

The letter urged the recipient to disclose funds held in their offshore accounts, under the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO), even though the NDO rules didn't apply.

Accountancy Age quote one tax adviser as saying that the approach "smacks of laziness".

Advisers claim that a simple check of their clients' tax affairs could have revealed that NDO was not applicable to these individuals.

The advisers are missing the point here, HMRC were using this opportunity as a fishing trip.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

An Inspector Calls

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group has called on HMRC to begin house calls, and take steps to eradicate the overpayment of tax among the elderly.

A nice idea, in theory.

However, HMRC simply do not have the resources to do this; hence the fact that local HMRC offices are closing, only to be replaced with call centres.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

A Hopeless Romantic

Gavin Hinks, of Accountancy Age, thinks that Dave Hartnett is a hopeless romantic.

What say you?

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"

Cry Freedom

Data obtained by the law firm McGrigors shows that 27 people have registered with HMRC, since the Liechtenstein Disclosure Opportunity was opened on September 1.

However, HMRC have refused a similar Freedom of Information Act request wrt how many people have registered for the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO).

The FT quote HMRC as saying that disclosure would "undermine the facility itself".

Fair enough, disclosing that very few people have taken up the NDO will doubtless encourage a "herd" mentality amongst tax evaders and they will simply follow the "majority" who haven't registered; ie they won't register.

Therefore, even though HMRC have refused to provide the data, it is clear that the refusal to do so indicates that take up of the NDO has been very low.

Tax does have to be taxing.

Professional Cover Against the Threat of Costly TAX and VAT Investigations

What is TAXWISE?

TAXWISE is a tax-fee protection service that will pay up to £75,000 towards your accountant's fees in the event of an HM Revenue & Customs full enquiry or dispute.

To find out more, please use this link Taxwise

Tax Investigation for Dummies, by Nick Morgan, provides a good and easy to read guide for anyone caught up in an HMRC tax investigation. A must read for any Self Assessment taxpayer.

Click the link to read about: Tax Investigation for Dummies

HMRC Is Shite (www.hmrcisshite.com), also available via the domain www.hmrconline.com, is brought to you by www.kenfrost.com "The Living Brand"