Millionaires face more stringent tax scrunity
Mar 25 2009 by Tom Scotney, Birmingham Post
Millionaire investors are facing a major new anti-evasion crackdown, a tax expert has warned.
Jonathan Pickworth, Head of the Litigation and Regulatory team at law firm DLA Piper, said reports indicated that HM Revenue & Customs had set up a new unit to handle the affairs of the rich.
The unit would apparently focus on high-net-worth individuals, particularly non-domiciles and multi-millionaires. Mr Pickworth said: “It will scrutinise their tax returns to ensure that all income is declared.
“However, HMRC says that any wealthy individual with convoluted tax arrangements could come under the spotlight of the unit, with further checks for any undisclosed income – for example, where the sale of assets or complex investment affairs is revealed.”
He cautioned that HMRC aimed to collect an additional £7 billion in tax over the next three years.
“It is stepping up its campaign against all forms of tax evasion and undisclosed income,”
The new push follows the well-documented creation of an Offshore Accounts Group to track down cases of offshore tax evasion.
Over the last year or so it has been vocal about using its powers to investigate and prosecute those taxpayers who assume they are outside the remit of UK law.
Banks and financial institutions have been compelled to reveal customer information about offshore accounts, assets, investments or credit cards in order to assess whether there are any associated tax liabilities.
And so-called tax amnesties have been offered in a bid to flush out miscreants. Mr Pickworth emphasised: “HMRC can investigate any of the millions of self-assessment returns that it receives.
“Last year it looked into the affairs of 62,100 people, but this year the total is expected to increase dramatically. These initiatives reflect an increased determination on the part of HMRC to ensure that tax is properly paid and to deal more aggressively with those who deliberately or recklessly fail to pay the proper amount due.”
