The tax gap was £35bn in 2009/10, according to HMRC’s estimate released today. The department has revised its £42bn estimate for the previous year to £39bn.
HMRC do not recognise or give ‘proper credit’ for a tax agent’s membership of a professional body, the ICAEW Tax Faculty said in response to the department’s consultation on a strategy for engaging with tax agents.
HMRC have flagged new penalties taking effect this autumn for late tax returns and late payments by individuals and businesses:
‘The new penalties for late self assessment returns are:
HMRC and the tax bodies share an enthusiasm to ‘press ahead’ with a new initiative to resolve longstanding HMRC service delivery issues, a leading expert has told Tax Journal.
Estimating the tax gap provides an important tool in understanding the causes of non-compliance and helping HMRC to focus on ways of reducing it, Dave Hartnett told the Treasury Sub-Committee yesterday.
The work of HMRC’s High Net Worth Unit produced ‘additional tax yield’ of £162m in 2010/11, according to a Commons written answer.
HMRC are reminding VAT ‘rule-breakers’ that they must notify HMRC by 30 September that they plan to make a voluntary disclosure if they wish to take part in the disclosure initiative launched in July.
John Cassidy reviews the raft of recent case law on this issue
Penalties for failure to comply with notices under FA 1998