HMRC clamping down on tax avoidance, says GT
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HM Revenue & Customs looks set to clamp down on tax avoiders with its new new powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to reclaim unpaid taxes, says Grant Thornton.
The new legislation, which the adviser says came quietly into effect last year, means HMRC will have new powers of search, seizure and arrest in relation to unpaid tax.
It will also give it the ability to force banks, lawyers and accountants to submit information that relates to serious tax fraud.
Grant Thornton national tax investigations group director Gary Ashford says:
"After a lengthy period of consultation it was agreed that from December 1, 2007, certain provisions of PACE 1984 would apply to criminal tax investigations carried out by HMRC officers.
"It is interesting to note that HMRC is currently advertising for criminal investigation officers in London, Nottingham, Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham, which seems to indicate that those new powers will be put into use very soon."
Ashford also expects the Government to enforce a second offshore tax amnesty and is urging those with undisclosed taxes to seek financial advice to avoid excessive tax bills.
GT says one area possibly effected immediately is against those that came forward during HMRC's Offshore Disclosure Facility that was requested towards the end of last year.
Ashford says: "With the 26 November deadline having now lapsed, HMRC will now be risk-reviewing the disclosures they received for investigation. They will also be looking through the information they received from the five big banks to identify those who did not come forward."
"It's also likely that HMRC will embark on a second ODF. They are
targeting another group of around 150 financial institutions in a bid to
gain further customer details. Given these new rules it seems likely that
HMRC will be successful in obtaining customer information relatively
quickly."
