Deutsche Bank scandal: Courts still chasing billions through tax scams and carbon credits May 7, 2019 Major banks enabled fraudsters to steal billions of pounds of public money through VAT scams, according to documents obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. A decade later, tax authorities are still chasing the money through the courts. Traders in London facilitated the so-called “carousel” fraud by organised crime gangs in 2009, which involved the trading [...]
HMRC forced to delete 5m voice recordings after breaching privacy rules May 3, 2019 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has been forced into deleting the voice records of five million taxpayers after it was revealed that they were collected without proper consent and in breach of privacy rules. The government body had signed people up to its voice ID system for telephone enquiries in a bid to speed up [...]
HMRC ramping up spending on private debt collectors, new analysis shows April 29, 2019 HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has spent £90m on private debt collectors in the last three years, compared to £34m in the three years before that, according to new analysis. Read more: Public will be able to make digital HMRC complaints from August The UK tax agency spent £26m on private debt collectors in 2018 [...]
Public will be able to make digital HMRC complaints from August April 25, 2019 The chair of the Treasury Committee, Nicky Morgan, has today welcomed the move by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to let the public make complaints about its decisions digitally. Read more: HMRC claims its online tax evasion crackdown has clawed back £200m Earlier this month Morgan said her and the Committee, which scrutinises the Treasury [...]
House transactions rise in March April 24, 2019 Residential transactions edged up last month, according to new figures from HMRC. Read more: UK household earnings rise at sharpest rate in a decade House deals grew by 1.4 per cent between February and March, while transactions on an annual level climbed 6.8 per cent. What the experts said "These figures show a more resilient [...]
Nearly three-fifths of firms think the UK tax regime is unfair to businesses like theirs April 23, 2019 Nearly three-fifths of businesses think they are unfairly penalised by the tax system, a new survey published today shows. The survey of over 1,000 businesses by the British Chamber of Commerce uncovered widespread concerned at the way HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) applies tax rules to different types of firms. More than two-thirds (67 per [...]
HMRC has warned young adults to be wary of tax rebate scams April 20, 2019 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned young adults to be wary of text message and phone call scams as people try to impersonate the government body. It is at this time of year when there are legitimate rebates being processed, that fraudsters target vulnerable people with fake messages, HMRC says. Read more: Court resurrects £14bn Mastercard mega-claim [...]
Santander and Barclays face lawsuits over film financing schemes April 8, 2019 Santander and Barclays are facing lawsuits from investors in failed film financing schemes. Santander could be sued for the role of legacy bank Alliance & Leicester’s role in part-funding the Imagine film financing scheme while Barclays is beng targeted over a similar scheme known as Timeless Releasing. Read more: HSBC sued for £150m in relation [...]
No-deal planning programme extended due to later Brexit date April 8, 2019 The government has extended the deadline for companies to apply for an £8m scheme to help businesses prepare for Brexit, it said today. The programme was instituted in October 2018 to help businesses prepare for a no-deal scenario by training traders on how to meet customs requirements and helping fund IT costs, among other measures, [...]
MPs slam BBC over ‘chaotic’ handling of freelance presenter tax system April 5, 2019 MPs have launched a scathing attack on the BBC over a “muddled and chaotic” approach to freelance workers that left hundreds of presenters liable to tax investigations. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last year launched an inquiry after it emerged the complex employment status of the broadcaster’s freelancers could mean tax laws were being broken. [...]