INVESTIGATIONS

Two former London bankers have been found guilty of tax evasion in the first criminal trial related to ‘cum-ex’ trades. Rob Mason (Forensic Risk Alliance) and Andrew Howard (Ropes & Gray) consider the UK impact.

HMRC is pedalling lightly on some aspects of tax investigations during the current Covid-19 pandemic, but that does not mean that potential tax liabilities have been forgotten.

Despite its critics, the COP 9 process appears to be here to stay. Sarah Stenton and Lisa Vanderheide (Stewarts) provide practical insights for advisers.

This year has seen an increasing compliance burden for companies, an expansion of HMRC powers and a reminder of the important role of the courts, write Kate Ison and Jessica Hocking (Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner).

The government intends to change the law retrospectively to make it clear that HMRC can use automated processes to issue notices to file returns and to issue penalties, report Catherine Robins and Steven Porter (Pinsent Masons).

Despite the review being an important event, it appears to be very much business as usual at HMRC.

In this quarterly review, Adam Craggs and Michelle Sloane (RPC) consider HMRC’s increasing propensity to seek the production of documents from accountants and other professional advisers, HMRC’s new policy of challenging taxpayers’ loan relationships, and the increase in the number of domicile enquiries launched by HMRC.