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Although getting one's tax return right is to be recommended, there are many grey areas in tax and, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) make mistakes at their end, the effect can be to exonerate the taxpayer from liability for all or part of the tax, interest...

There are hundreds of thousands of companies in tax havens and the true commercial value added by them is probably trivial, whereas the tax avoided or evaded runs into billions, so it is no wonder that governments are mounting an ever-increasing effort to...

An attack by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) on 'disguised remuneration' schemes, wherein a director of a company takes money out of the company in the form of a loan which is never intended to be repaid, has been widely reported. Such schemes were widely...

A recent survey by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) shows that only one in four UK businesses are aware of the penalties they could face under the Criminal Finances Act 2017 if they fail to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion by any person or...

Companies understandably may wish to provide financial as well as moral support to their directors if they are facing litigation. However, the issue of whether such contributions are tax deductible is far from straightforward and exercised the minds of...

Directors of struggling companies all too often place payment of tax at the bottom of their priority lists, with the result that it is the public purse that frequently suffers most in the event of insolvency. However, as a High Court decision showed , such...

National boundaries pose little or no obstacle to tax evasion. The Court of Appeal made that point in an important ruling which has greatly boosted the ability of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to pursue inquiries beyond the borders of the UK. HMRC were...

It is often optimistically considered that trading on eBay and similar online sales platforms is effectively outside the tax system. That, of course, is not true and anyone undertaking economic transactions for profit needs to comply with the tax laws to...

The 'making tax digital' project will require VAT-registered businesses to submit their VAT returns online from 1 April 2019 and to use accounting software that is integrated with the Government's digital gateway to do it. This in turn means, in effect, that...

If your business is struggling to meet VAT and other tax payments on time, take advice quickly. The decision by the Government to restore 'Crown preference' regarding debts due to the Exchequer from April 2020 could impact negatively on you. Leaving aside...