Rewards for informants to HMRC!

For the first time, HMRC has publicised details of the latest scheme that will be launched later this year to reward people who are prepared to come forward and report other people for tax fraud or tax evasion. Obviously this can be on a minor scale but we assume they are hoping to catch people undertaking potentially more major scams or ongoing tax evasion.

They want people to tell them if they are aware of any non-compliance with the tax laws in order to close what they call the ‘tax gap’ and recover more money for the treasury. 

This has already been reported in the press stating that basically whistleblowers who are prepared to alert the authorities to massive tax fraud could receive millions of pounds as a reward. 

For the first time informants are to get compensation relative to the amount of tax clawed back. This radical plan has already been rolled out in other countries like the US and Canada and aims to crack down on high value tax fraud. 

The government wants everyone in Britain to play by the rules and say that they now have a zero tolerance for anyone committing tax fraud.

It’s clear from the initial write ups that they are looking for fraud and widescale or large scale cases. 

However, you have always been able to complete an online form or telephone HMRC to report offenders that you may be aware of through the Tax Evasion hotline, but now they have upped their game. 

It is unlikely that many ordinary people on the street would come across large scale tax fraud and even if they did they may not recognise it or understand it but we look forward to seeing where this goes in the future.

For now if you personally have something that you want to declare there are various ways of coming forward to HMRC voluntarily and for that you will receive priority and cost-effective treatment from HMRC and penalties are lower when you come forward voluntarily. 

There are different methods of doing this and a voluntary disclosure is the simplest and cheapest way of setting the record straight with HMRC. For fraud, potential fraud and more serious cases where there has been deliberate behaviour in avoiding tax, you can use the Code of Practice 9  route. 

Call us, without obligation and we will explain the options to you and quote a fixed price for the work needed. you can contact Andy on 07879 464577 or Lindsay on 07584706664

In the meantime we wait to see how and when the new HMRC scheme will be launched.