HMRC believes some £80m of tax has been underpaid by wealthy individuals relating to trusts in the past year, up from £61m in the previous year. Suspected avoidance of stamp duty land tax by wealthy individuals has also increased to £70m, up from £48m in 2020/21, according to HMRC estimates.
International Law Firm RPC reports that HMRC is increasingly making use of information shared by overseas tax authorities to identify wealthy individuals who may have underpaid tax by using trusts established overseas. Under the Common Reporting Standard, HMRC receives data from over 100 tax authorities.
Adam Craggs, Partner and Head of Tax Investigations at RPC said: ‘When HMRC increases its estimate of tax avoidance or evasion in a particular area you can expect an increase in investigations focused on that area.
‘HMRC now has access to a wealth of information regarding assets held overseas by HNWs and it would be surprising if it did not make full use of this information.’
RPC also highlights HMRC’s increased scrutiny of SDLT returns to identify cases where relief may have been wrongfully claimed. This includes claims for multiple dwellings relief which, according to RPC, HMRC believes are incorrect in up to one-third of cases.
HMRC believes some £80m of tax has been underpaid by wealthy individuals relating to trusts in the past year, up from £61m in the previous year. Suspected avoidance of stamp duty land tax by wealthy individuals has also increased to £70m, up from £48m in 2020/21, according to HMRC estimates.
International Law Firm RPC reports that HMRC is increasingly making use of information shared by overseas tax authorities to identify wealthy individuals who may have underpaid tax by using trusts established overseas. Under the Common Reporting Standard, HMRC receives data from over 100 tax authorities.
Adam Craggs, Partner and Head of Tax Investigations at RPC said: ‘When HMRC increases its estimate of tax avoidance or evasion in a particular area you can expect an increase in investigations focused on that area.
‘HMRC now has access to a wealth of information regarding assets held overseas by HNWs and it would be surprising if it did not make full use of this information.’
RPC also highlights HMRC’s increased scrutiny of SDLT returns to identify cases where relief may have been wrongfully claimed. This includes claims for multiple dwellings relief which, according to RPC, HMRC believes are incorrect in up to one-third of cases.
