Exclusive: HMRC shells out millions in legal costs after losing tens of cases February 10, 2021 There was an 88 per cent jump in the amount of money HMRC was forced to pay out in legal costs to taxpayers, in cases the taxman lost in 2019/20. In the 2018/19 tax year, the taxman settled 34 cases, costing HMRC some £1.34m. In 2019/20, when the latest data was available, that had jumped [...]
Amazon halts alcohol sales in Northern Ireland following new Brexit customs rules January 27, 2021 Online retail giant Amazon has halted sales of wines, beers and spirits in Northern Ireland as it prepares to de-list more products under new Brexit customs rules. The company is concerned that excise duty will now have to be paid twice on alcohol shipments sent from British mainland across the Irish Sea. Amazon suspended orders [...]
Taxman snoops on 18,000 phone records and web histories January 11, 2021 HMRC made 18,464 requests to access communications data like phone records and web histories to aid its criminal investigations in 2019, according to city law firm RPC. The total number of communication requests was up slightly on 2018’s 18,263 requests. The latest available data was from 2019. The taxman can request data held by telecoms [...]
HMRC issues record £28.3m fine for money laundering breaches January 7, 2021 HMRC has issued a record £28.3m fine to Luton-based business MT Global, a money transfer company. The fine is the largest ever issued by HMRC and relates to “significant” breaches of money laundering regulations between 2017 and 2019. The company was penalised for failures in carrying out risk assessments, its policies, controls and procedures, due [...]
Snitches get riches: HMRC payments to tax evasion whistleblowers up 63% in 2019/20 November 15, 2020 HMRC reported a 63% increase in payments to whistleblowers for reporting tax evasion in the 2019/2020 tax year, paying £473,000 to informants during the period. In the previous tax year HMRC paid £290,250 to informants – around £182,000 less than in 2019/20. The figures were published in HMRC’s annual reports and accounts 2019 to 2020. [...]
HMRC to receive powers to enforce disclosure of assets September 19, 2020 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be given new powers that will allow it to force financial institutions to provide information about people’s assets. The firms will be required to pass on customer information if served with a “financial institution notice” by HMRC under new measures proposed in the next finance bill. It will mean [...]
Purplebricks fined £260,000 for breach of money-laundering rules August 18, 2020 Online estate agency Purplebricks has been fined more than £260,000 by HM Revenue & Customs for violating money-laundering rules. Under UK regulations implemented in 2017, estate agencies are required to ensure customers are not using their business to launder money. The legislation says estate agencies are responsible for carrying out financial checks on their clients [...]
A four-step approach to optimise your innovation funding July 23, 2020 | City Talk The landscape of innovation grants, funding and tax credits can be overwhelming. We explore how companies can make the most of the funding options available to them. With a host of new innovation funds being made available across a number of sectors and HMRC committing to accelerating payments of research and development (R&D) tax credits, [...]
Legislation day – A vision to reshape and modernise HMRC for the future July 22, 2020 | City Talk As one might expect from Legislation Day, yesterday included the publication of draft legislation ahead of the Autumn Budget. However, the core theme from yesterday’s announcements that accompanied the legislation was the Government’s clear mission to change the role that HMRC plays in tomorrow’s society. This builds from the critical role that the tax authority [...]
Tax less, spend more: the Chancellor’s Summer Statement July 8, 2020 | City Talk The Chancellor delivered an Economic Statement that may not have been heralded as a Budget, but nonetheless delivered some significant changes to the country’s taxation and spending regime. In what was clearly a ‘Tax Less, Spend More’ statement, Rishi Sunak delivered not just a VAT cut for the few, but spending grants for the many. [...]