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Up to £200m due after HMRC defeats avoidance scheme in Tribunal 12 October 2015
A complex tax avoidance scheme used mainly by property developers and IT contractors has been defeated at Tribunal by HMRC .
The scheme aimed to exploit the UK’s double-taxation agreement with the Isle of Man. Over 2,000 people used the complex and artificial arrangement, believing it would reduce their rate of Income Tax to typically less than 5%.
The scheme was blocked by Parliament in 2008. A scheme user, Robert Huitson, challenged the amending legislation, taking the case to Tribunal.
The Tribunal’s positive decision for HMRC means that the property developers and IT contractors who were the main users of the scheme now collectively owe HMRC up to £200m in unpaid tax.
Genuine HMRC contact and recognising phishing emails 15 October 2015
HMRC has published guidance explaining how to recognise a genuine contact from HMRC and how to tell when an email is bogus. Also provided are examples of various emails, letters , text messages and calls used by scammers to try and obtain personal information. Phishing is the fraudulent act of emailing a person in order to obtain their personal/financial information such as passwords and credit card or bank account details. These emails often include a link to a bogus website encouraging you to enter your personal details.
HMRC has produced guidance which explains how to recognise genuine contact from HMRC, and how to tell when an email is phishing/bogus.
To help you decide if a contact from HMRC is genuine, you can see examples of the different methods that fraudsters use to get you to disclose personal information.
Changes to HMRC bank accounts 23 October 2015
From February 2016, HMRC will move its bank accounts to Barclays. Most taxpayers paying their bills electronically will be unaffected and do not need to do anything.
Customers who currently pay using Bank Giro or Transcash payslips should consider alternative ways to pay such as electronic payments.
From February 2016 customers making payments from overseas will need to use a new IBAN number when making payments through their bank.
This will be published on GOV.UK prior to February 2016. Any customer group likely to be affected by the changes will be contacted directly.
This information was published in HMRC Employer Bulletin 56 .
CIPP Policy News Journal
25/04/2016, Page 208 of 453
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