HMRC tipped to unveil tougher fines for tax dodgers
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HM Revenue & Customs is tipped to unveil harsher fines for tax dodgers next month in a bid to get more people to participate in its amnesty on secret offshore accounts.
HMRC last week extended the deadline for its tax amnesty from November 30 to January 4 in an attempt to boost take up of the “new disclosure opportunity”.
The initiative allows tax evaders to benefit from reduced penalties if they own up to secret accounts.
The 2007 disclosure opportunity cost the Revenue £6m to roll out and raised around £400m in back taxes and interest.
Speculation has been mounting that the pre-Budget report could include tougher new penalties to prevent tax evasion in the future.
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Readers' comments (2)
Anonymous | 30 Nov 2009 3:36 pm
Its about time that HMRC put more resources into hunting those who operate under the radar and less into those who pay their tax.
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Anonymous | 1 Dec 2009 8:20 am
When you have a government that is so inefficeint that it has to tax some people 50% of what they earn (plus NI, VAT, IHT) you can expect people to try everything possible to mitigate their tax liability, or leave the country. What is needed is more efficient government and a less officious HMRC.
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