The New Face of HMRC: Behind the Tangled Web

By Daniel Dover and Helen Adams

Since the last edition of this perennial guide, the tax world has changed almost beyond recognition. The leak of the so-called Panama Papers in 2016, and of the Paradise Papers a year later, revealed to an incredulous general public the extent to which some privileged individuals and corporations accessed tucked-away trust and bank accounts. The result is increasing pressure on HMRC to raise revenue and to prosecute a greater number of tax evaders. Government has given HMRC stronger, less ambiguous legislation, putting the onus on the individual to prove their innocence. A tax investigation is now akin to a spider's rapacious search for food, and HMRC has substantially more information about which line of enquiry to pursue, and about the helpless taxpayer who lies twitching and vulnerable at the end of each silken thread.

The New Face of HMRC: Behind the Tangled Web will guide you through the pitfalls of a tax investigation. With humour and a light-touch approach it will help you avoid the hairy clutches and ferocious fangs of the HMRC investigators. Peppered with practical advice and Pugh's humorous cartoons, this is a strong antidote to the poison of the taxman's pursuit.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Profile Books
• Release date: Sep 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781782834885

Daniel Dover

Daniel Dover, specialist in forensic accounting, is a partner at BDO Stoy Hayward.

Book preview

BDO LLP is the world’s fifth largest professional services firm and accounting network, providing audit, tax and advisory services to start-ups, SMEs, and AIM-listed, FTSE-100 and multinational clients. In the UK, BDO is recognised as a leader in exceptional client service, with 3,600 staff in 18 offices, and 260 partners. Globally, the organisation operates in 162 countries, with over 74,000 people working out of 1,500 offices.

Daniel Dover is a senior partner at BDO LLP. He established the firm’s Tax Investigations Group just over 30 years ago – now known as the Tax Dispute Resolution team. He is a recognised specialist in the area. Daniel’s expertise covers all matters relating to the UK HMRC investigation office, including disputes involving questions of domicile and residence of both corporate and private entities. Daniel also advises businesses and families with their strategic direction. He is a trustee of a number of prominent charities and advises a wide range of charities on the tax pitfalls and governance issues they face. He is the co-author of The Taxman Always Rings Twice, An Inspector Calls, An Inspector Returns, War or Peace and HMRC – Her Majesty’s Roller Coaster.

Helen Adams is a Principal in BDO LLP’s Tax Dispute Resolution team, managing cases opened by HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service under Codes of Practice 8 and 9 (Contractual Disclosure Facility for suspected serious tax fraud). She also represents clients who want to voluntarily disclose tax irregularities to correct past years’ tax positions; resolves complex local district enquiries (including tax-avoidance matters involving Accelerated Payment and Follower Notices); and advises on whether Alternative Dispute Resolution (mediation) may be a suitable way to resolve a tax enquiry. A contributing author to Bloomsbury Professional’s HMRC Investigations Handbook, Helen regularly writes articles for various professional publications. She is a Vice Chair of the CIOT’s Management of Taxes technical sub-committee and a member of its Tax Adviser editorial sub-committee.

Jonathan Pugh first studied law which presented him with hours of doodling practice. After a brief stint as an art teacher, he began his career as a freelance cartoonist in 1987. In January 2010 he joined the Daily Mail as their daily pocket cartoonist after nearly fifteen years at The Times. He was voted the Cartoon Art Trust Pocket Cartoonist of the Year in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2007 and 2010 and was the British Press Awards Cartoonist of the Year in 2001.

The New Face of HMRC

Behind the Tangled Web

Daniel Dover and Helen Adams

With cartoons by Pugh

First published in Great Britain in 2018 by

Profile Books Ltd

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Bevin Way

London

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www.profilebooks.com

Copyright © BDO 2018

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www.bdo.co.uk

The moral right of the authors has been asserted.

Copyright © cartoons by Pugh

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

A CIP record for this book can be obtained from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 78816 142 8

eISBN 978 1 78283 488 5

Designed and typeset by [e-mail]

While care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this book, it is intended to provide general guidance only and does not constitute professional advice. The information contained in this book is based on the authors’ understanding of legislation, regulation and practice at the time of publication, all of which is subject to change, possibly with retrospective effect. Neither they nor BDO LLP can therefore accept any legal or regulatory liability from readers acting on the information given.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword

In the beginning

Introduction

1 Acceptable tax planning, unacceptable avoidance or evasion?

2 Information, information, information…

3 Exchanges of information

4 Whistleblowers

5 Voluntary disclosure

6 The taxpayer: individuals – domestic and foreign

7 The taxpayer: companies and businesses

8 The taxpayer: charities and trusts

9 The changing nature of the taxpayer

10 Professional advisers

11 The changing nature of HMRC

12 Tackling offshore non-compliance

13 Tackling tax avoidance

14 Compliance enquiries

15 Full-blown investigations

16 Criminal investigations

17 Legal procedures

18 Penalties

19 Tax debt management

20 The final destination

APPENDIX 1 Top ten tips

APPENDIX 2 Our ten favourite excuses

APPENDIX 3 Statutory Residence Test summary

APPENDIX 4 HMRC’s taxpayer’s charter

APPENDIX 5 Behaviours

APPENDIX 6 Penalties for offshore matters and offshore transfers

Glossary of acronyms (and more)

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to many people for their help in the production of this book.

Firstly, to Helen Abrahams, whose considerable organisational ability kept us all in line and on track. Secondly, to Helen Dover, the world’s leading expert at unravelling the intricate tales woven by her husband.

The drive and motivation behind us all came from Paul Eagland, the BDO UK Managing Partner. It was Paul who kick-started the process for producing the book. He promised to fire us with enthusiasm. Had we refused, he promised to fire us – with enthusiasm!

Our colleagues at BDO UK – Wendy Walton, Dawn Register, Richard Morley and Mark Sassoon, who encouraged and supported us all along the way.

Sincere thanks to Pugh, whose cartoons never fail to raise a wry smile, even among the driest denizens of HMRC. He excels at encapsulating a message in a direct but humorous manner. Special thanks go to our dear publisher Andrew Franklin and his wonderful team at Profile Books, for their contributions and support. Andrew considers himself ‘a prince among men and peerless among equals’. With this publication, does he have a point?!

Last but not least we must acknowledge the role of HMRC in all this. Without them…

Daniel I. Dover and Helen Adams, July 2018

Foreword

This book is intended to give you, the reader, a taste of what life might be like should Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) decide that you’ve got your sums wrong and have, as a consequence, paid insufficient tax. It updates and adds to BDO’s previous tome on the subject, HMRC – Her Majesty’s Roller Coaster: Hints on How to Survive a Tax Investigation, a widely recognised work of genius published in 2014 and the fifth book in the series.

Since that date the tax world has changed almost beyond recognition. Dealing with the taxman has never been a bundle of joy (although taxpayers have been known to shout ‘Hallelujah’ when a settlement was in sight). But there were times when laughter was possible … and useful as a safety valve. Nowadays those times are hard to come by. Governments are putting more and more pressure on HMRC to raise revenue and to prosecute greater numbers of tax evaders – especially those making use of offshore arrangements.

The leak of the so-called Panama Papers in 2016, and of the Paradise Papers a year later, revealed to an incredulous general public the extent to which privileged individuals and corporations with access to trusts and bank accounts in tucked-away places may avoid paying tax without breaking the law.

To help HMRC check whether it can gather more tax from these offshore avoiders, the government passed reams of new legislation and gave the agency powers that some believe take it into dangerously uncharted waters. The once-clear dividing