Kamis, 31 Mei 2012

Taxman to target buy-to-let landlords, taxi firms and even 'Del Boy' London market traders

Taxman to target buy-to-let landlords, taxi firms and even 'Del Boy' London market traders

By Lee Boyce

PUBLISHED: 09:22 EST, 31 May 2012 | UPDATED: 10:05 EST, 31 May 2012

The taxman is creating three new 'taskforces' to uncover tax evasion among taxi drivers, street market traders and buy-to-let landlords.

It is part of a recent crackdown on 'hotspots' identified across Britain by HM Revenue Customs (HMRC) - a result of the Government’s £917million spending review.

The aim is raise an additional £7billion each year by 2014/15. It has so far recovered £50m in 2012.

Market traders: HMRC is cracking down on tax dodgers in indoor and outdoor markets

Market traders: HMRC is cracking down on tax dodgers in indoor and outdoor markets

HMRC launched 12 taskforces in 2011/12. Thirty will follow in 2012/13.

The new drive will involve 'intensive bursts of activity' of these team of tax officials in 'specific high-risk trade sectors and locations in the UK'. 

They will typically focus on groups of up to around 300 people.

The areas of focus will include: Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}

  • A taskforce to tackle tax evasion among buy-to-let landlords will focus on East Anglia, London, Leeds, York, Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, Durham and Sunderland and is expected to recover £17million;
  • A crackdown on taxi firms in Nottingham, Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire, expected to recover more than £2million;
  • Targeting London’s indoor and outdoor market traders to recover £1.85million;
  • A focus on restaurants in the Midlands to recover £2.5m.

David Gauke, the Exchequer Secretary, said: ‘We have made it clear that we will not tolerate tax evasion â€" everyone needs to pay the taxes they owe in full. We are determined to crack down on the minority who choose to break the rules.

‘It is not fair, that at a time when most hard-working people are paying the right tax, others are trying to get out of paying what they should.

'This is not an empty threat - HMRC can and will track you down if you choose to break the rules.'

It comes just months after the HMRC declared a major crackdown on tax dodgers in a variety of professions. [read the full story]

Tax targets: London buy-to-let landlords will be a focus for a 'taskforce' of inspectors. Pictured: the popular Barbican estate in the City

Tax targets: London buy-to-let landlords will be a focus for a 'taskforce' of inspectors. Pictured: the popular Barbican estate in the City of London

It announced that 30 taskforces would be created, targeting tax dodgers in a range of industries, including the motor trade, eBay traders, buy-to-let landlords, Avon ladies and plumbers.

But the taxman's aggressive stance against individuals has come in for criticism in light of the apparently more lax stance it has taken with Britain's biggest businesses. HMRC has been accused of letting major companies such as Vodafone off the hook for vast amounts of tax.

It is claimed that the mobile banking giant had struck a ‘sweetheart’ deal with the tax office over a ‘£6billion’ tax bill, paying £1billion instead.

In November last year, this website reported how the HMRC was targeting buy-to-let landlords as part of another crackdown [read full story].

The taskforces are specialist teams that undertake intensive bursts of activity in specific high-risk trade sectors and locations in the UK. The teams visit traders to examine their records and carry out other investigations. 

Avoiding beeswax (that's tax): The taxman will also target street traders, personified by Del Boy from Only Fools Horses

Avoiding beeswax (that's tax): The taxman will also target street traders, personified by Del Boy from Only Fools Horses

Gary Ashford of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT), said: 'We have already seen some unannounced visits on restaurants in some parts of the country, including the arrest of some of the restaurant owners themselves and it seems the Midlands is next. 

'Anyone who has been evading tax, whether income tax, PAYE or other taxes, in any part of the country should consider coming forward before they are found out.

'Voluntary disclosure usually leads to lower penalties, a reduced chance of prosecution and a reduced risk of being ‘named’ under the publication of details of deliberate defaulters scheme.'

He added that the targeting of property rental income overlapped with other HMRC campaigns, such as the push against hidden offshore earnings. 'Many property investors may well be UK residents holding offshore accounts, or non doms, mistakenly not appreciating that UK source income is still taxable,' he said.

Here's what other readers have said. Why not add your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.

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An army of inspectors to recoup a few £million from a few hundred dodgers don't they ever consider the logistics of this? Surely fewer people in resources could reclaim the £Billions of unpaid taxes by corporations. Farcical where we'll be paying for the HMRC losses. - Saying how it is, London ---------- The annual tax yield by individual tax inspectors is many times the cost of employing them. This has always been the case. What we need is a situation where the exchequer is reclaiming the tax being evaded by EVERYBODY. By the government's own figures the tax gap - the difference between what is owed and what is collected - is £40 billion. Independent estimates put it at nearer £100 billion. Perhaps instead of reducing staff numbers in HMRC the government should be increasing them ... to benefit of the honest taxpayer.

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B2L Landlords get tax relief on the interest on the loans to get the properties. If they do not declare the income then they do not get the tax relief. What would you do? Now I might be `way off track` on this but I thought the Flats in the Barbican [see picture] were sold on long - 99yr Leases - for owner occupation by the Corporation of The City of London. IF people - who already `own` the flats sub-let for cash in hand they leave themselves open to action by the Corporation of The City and perhaps criminal charges. Trust Me -- if any of the Residents - a lot of whom work in The City got a whiff of unauthorised tenants they would soon report it to the relevant authorities. Jimmy says "How about tackling the property owners in and around London who have erected "sheds" in their back gardens who charge huge rents to immingrants- Jimmy Mac, Derby, 31/5/2012 19:24 - and the Council Tenants who let to Olympic Visitors? It is not just Buy 2 Let Landlords o n the fiddle.

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I guess its a numbers game .... but it seems hard to understand how HMRC will chase 1,000's to collect little amounts ..... but at the same time the system let's just 'one' company like Vodaphone skip paying billions.

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If tax is payable on the BTL, just increase the rent to cover it, that will show them. Anyway properdee is a tax-free investment ... just ask any MP.

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How about tackling the property owners in and around London who have erected "sheds" in their back gardens who charge huge rents to immingrants with little or no knowledge of their rights. This is low lying fruit, alll the taxman needs to do is go on googleearth.

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An army of inspectors to recoup a few £million from a few hundred dodgers don't they ever consider the logistics of this? Surely fewer people in resources could reclaim the £Billions of unpaid taxes by corporations. Farcical where we'll be paying for the HMRC losses

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Interesting selection of businesses and towns, I wonder why?

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The Only Dodge People in England go to No 10 Downing Street. They Need to be Watched all the Time. Dodge Deals with the Germans the EU Etc. Giving Billions of Tax payers £s away grovelling to the Germans to keep them happy.

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The problem is it will cost £200 million to get back £10 million. Why not go for the low hanging fruit first like big businesses.

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The Taxman should be doing this country wide not just in isolated areas !

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