The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Policy Bi-Monthly Newsletter – September 2016
Tackling the hidden economy 1 September 2016
Three consultations have been published aimed at tackling the hidden economy, one of which would see HMRC’s bulk data-gathering powers extended to include customer data held by money service businesses.
Tackling the hidden economy: extension of data-gathering powers to money service businesses
Money service businesses (MSBs) are entities which provide money transmission, cheque cashing, or currency exchange services by way of business. This covers a wide range of business models, including high street money transmitters and their agents, foreign exchange currency traders, and peer-to-peer money transmitters, as well as other enterprises that may offer these services in addition to their main line of business. This consultation is about a proposal to extend HMRC’s bulk data-gathering powers to include customer data held by money service businesses (MSBs). This data will help HMRC to identify non-compliant customers trading in the hidden economy. The consultation invites views on the proposal and options for implementation, to ensure that it addresses the exploitation of MSBs by non-compliant customers to hide undeclared income, and minimises the compliance burdens on MSBs. Tackling the hidden economy: conditionality This is a consultation on the principle of conditionality, which would make access to business services or licences dependent on tax registration. Conditionality could help to make it as easy as possible to register for tax, and as difficult as possible for non-compliant businesses to evade their responsibilities Tackling the hidden economy: sanctions This consultation explores the potential for new penalties and sanctions to tackle hidden economy participants including those who have already been penalised for deliberate non-compliance, but have not changed their behaviour. Two parallel consultations on hidden economy measures have been launched alongside this one:
The three consultations close on 21 October 2016.
Telephone scams 2 September 2016
There is currently a telephone scam where a recorded message is left, allegedly from HMRC, stating that HMRC are bringing a lawsuit against the individual and is going to sue them. The recipient is asked to phone 0161 850 8563 and press “1” to speak to the officer dealing with the case. This scam is becoming widely reported and seems to be targeting older people. Please do not reply to the message. HMRC takes security very seriously but you need to be alert. If you cannot verify the identity of the person making the call you should not disclose your personal details. You should report these incidents on the Action Fraud website, or you can call them on 0300 123 2040 (Please note this number will be charged at your normal network rate). They are open Monday to Friday 09:00 - 18:00.
To learn more about dealing with phishing and scams visit GOV.UK .
cipp.org.uk
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