Bettis was arrested and later charged on 15/05/2015 with eight counts of fraud and acting dishonestly by not sending HMRC the correct VAT and PAYE returns. He pleaded guilty to all the offences and was sentenced today at Chelmsford Crown Court to two years in prison and disqualified from being a company director for eight years.
Confiscation will be sought to recover the proceeds of his crimes.
Paul Barton, HMRC’s Assistant Director, Criminal Investigation, said:
“Andrew Bettis worked in the payroll industry and knew full well he was acting fraudulently. However, he shamelessly used his employees Tax and National Insurance to fund his businesses. Tax was deducted and shown on payslips but the money was never handed over to HMRC. He also failed to pay the right VAT, giving him an unfair advantage over his competitors and other honest businesses who pay what is due. This fraudulent and criminal behaviour is never acceptable and HMRC will work to bring to justice anyone involved in this type of criminality. Anyone with information about suspected fraud can contact the Tax Evasion Hotline on 0800 788 887.”
Read HMRC’s full press release .
HMRC consult on extending data gathering powers to tackle hidden economy 6 August 2015 HMRC has published a consultation on the best way to implement powers to obtain information from electronic payment providers and business intermediaries. Online digital platforms and those businesses who fail to register for tax, and individuals who fail to declare a source of income will be targeted as part of the hidden economy that is responsible for almost a fifth of the tax gap. In 2013 (Finance Act 2013 section 228) HMRC obtained new powers to collect data from merchant acquirers – businesses that process credit and debit card transactions. This data helps HMRC identify traders that are receiving income but are not registered for tax, as well as those who are registered but underdeclare their income to HMRC.
The government has now announced its intention to legislate to extend access to two similar sorts of data to help tackle the hidden economy. These changes will apply to data held by:
Electronic payment providers – businesses that perform a similar function to merchant acquirers by handling monetary transactions, but not necessarily in relation to credit and debit cards (increasingly these transactions are online and take different digital forms); and Business intermediaries – these businesses can take many forms, for example allowing customers to make orders, purchases or reservations, relating to goods, services or digital content. Again, these businesses increasingly operate on digital platforms.
This consultation closes at 14 October 2015.
HMRC begin testing Personal Tax Accounts 24 August 2015
By early 2016 HMRC expect 10 million customers to have access to their own personal online tax account and by 2020, everyone in the UK will have one.
HMRC is introducing secure digital tax accounts for individual customers, which is also going to help employers.
The new Personal Tax Account brings together each individual’s details in one place with all the information those customers need to do business with HMRC. It means that employees will be able to check for themselves things like their tax code and how it’s been calculated. This new service, which will work like an online bank account, was introduced last month. HMRC are working with a wide range of employers and asking them to invite their employees to test the accounts so we can get their feedback to ensure it meets their needs before they develop and expand what customers can do using them.
CIPP Policy News Journal
25/04/2016, Page 205 of 453
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker