Tax Investigations Service Wednesday, 21st April 2010
Increased threats from HMRC
With the Government looking to reduce the massive national debt it is likely that there will be even more pressure on Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to bring in additional monies to the Exchequer. In addition, HMRC was granted new far-reaching powers in 2009 and, using Schedule 36 inspection powers, Tax Inspectors can now visit business premises, inspect documentation and conduct record keeping reviews – all without launching a formal tax enquiry.
In the last few months alone there has been considerable media interest in HMRC’s large scale enquiry projects into various professions and we believe this type of targeted behaviour is likely to continue in the coming months.
Enhanced Protection
In response to these worrying new powers, we have reviewed our service and are pleased to launch the enhanced Smith Cooper Tax Investigations Service to our clients.
As before, the service is designed to reimburse the costs of our client’s defence in the event that they are selected for enquiry. Research shows that a typical investigation can last for 19 months but they can last for several years. Professional costs can therefore be substantial. In addition to protecting clients in the event of an enquiry, the service also includes enquiries where HMRC uses its new Schedule 36 inspection powers up to a limit of £1,500. We believe our new service will provide the best possible representation and protection against the threat of a tax enquiry therefore we strongly recommend that clients subscribe to the service. All taxpayers are at risk and in 2008/2009 HMRC collected an additional £12billion through compliance activities.
