British American Tobacco whacked with £650,000 fine by HMRC for “oversupplying” Belgium cigarette market November 13, 2014 British American Tobacco (BAT) has been hit with a fine of £650,000 by HM Revenue & Customs for oversupplying cigarettes to Belgium, which has substantially lower tobacco taxes than Britain. Apparently, that causes more low-cost cigarettes to be smuggled into the UK. According to papers seen by the Wall Street Journal, it is the first [...]
HMRC recovers record £3.65bn in unpaid taxes from avoidance schemes, evasion and fraud November 9, 2014 A record amount of unpaid tax has been recovered from avoidance schemes, evasion and fraud by HMRC’s top team of specialist investigators – up by almost a quarter in the past year, says Pinsent Masons, the international law firm. According to Pinsent Masons, the compliance yield from HMRC’s specialist investigations team hit £3.65bn in 2013/14, [...]
Taxi app Uber referred to HMRC by TfL over tax complaint by Margaret Hodge October 15, 2014 Uber, the smartphone taxi app, has been referred to HM Revenue & Customers by London’s taxi and minicab regulator Transport for London (TfL). The referral follows a complaint by Labour MP Margaret Hodge that Uber’s Dutch operating firm Uber BV does not pay tax in the UK and was “opting out of the UK tax [...]
Will I get a tax rebate or do I have to pay more back? HMRC statement error affects thousands October 9, 2014 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is sending out second tax statements to thousands of people, asking them to pay back their tax rebates because of initial miscalculations. Earlier this year, millions of people received notifications that they had paid the wrong about in tax for the year ending in April. Reasons given by [...]
Margaret Hodge hops off HMRC tax roller coaster after bump with motorbike September 17, 2014 Labour MP Margaret Hodge failed to appear at the launch of a book by BDO partner Daniel Dover last night, pulling out as guest speaker at the last minute. Hosts BDO were given little explanation as to why the chair of the Public Accounts Committee wouldn’t be turning up to talk tax, undeniably her favourite [...]
Sportech share price slumps as HMRC seeks £93m in back taxes after Spot the Ball game debacle September 16, 2014 Sportech is told to give HMRC £93m in back taxes after its Spot the Ball game was ruled as a game of skill not chance. International gaming group Sportech was told yesterday that it must pay back £93m in tax after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) won its appeal against a VAT overpayment. The Liverpool-based [...]
Taxman’s revolution: HMRC is setting the pace in digital government reform September 8, 2014 JUST like innovative private sector organisations, the government, as a provider of services to the nation’s citizens, needs to reflect and respond to the changing demands of those it serves. This is especially relevant to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), which must provide effective, efficient and impartial services to its 41m individual and 5m [...]
Banks warn that HMRC won’t protect most vulnerable in tax grab plan August 16, 2014 The head of the British Bankers' Association (BBA) has sent a letter to chancellor George Osbourne, warning him that British banks do not believe HM Revenue & Customs can be trusted to fairly and safely take money out of tax payers' bank accounts. Controversial proposals outlined by the chancellor during his budget speech in [...]
Inheritance tax to be targeted in HMRC crackdown August 10, 2014 Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is getting ready to crack down on voidance schemes targetting inheritance tax. As it becomes more difficult to plan for other types of tax, the HMRC is looking to make sure that substantial amounts of taxable inheritance aren't slipping through the cracks. The rules regarding the disclosure of inheritance [...]
HMRC denies new pay up front powers will cause bankruptcies July 2, 2014 HMRC yesterday dismissed claims that its proposed new powers to force firms and individuals to pay up front any disputed tax associated with a “tax avoidance” scheme will spark a rash of insolvencies. Accountancy firms have claimed that as many as 10,000 businesses could be affected by the accelerated payment notices, which are part of [...]