Exiting Remuneration Trusts can be tricky
Exiting Remuneration Trusts raise a number of issues that need to be addressed. Finding a tax solution (particularly one that is acceptable!) may have become easier for some with HMRC’s new Settlement Terms recently announced.
HMRC offer a new Settlement Opportunity for Remuneration Trusts
There is no doubt that tax avoidance evolved over the years. I first came across tax schemes in the 1990’s when there were more “simple” schemes such as investments in platinum sponge and alike. Then they progressed to Employee Benefit Trusts and Remuneration Trusts through which owners of businesses were given interest free loans
Is now the time to push for a Settlement?
January is a funny month. The festive celebrations have been and gone. A lot of taxpayers turn to filing their Self Assessment Tax Return by the end of the month. Others are simply looking backwards and forwards and thinking how are they going to fair in 2022. So why is now possibly a good time to push for a Settlement if you are under a tax investigation?
What will HMRC be sending you for Christmas this year?
For many taxpayers, a brown envelope from HMRC will not be well received at any time of the year. Odds on it will contain bad news. It may be the start of an investigation. It may be a “nudge letter” or a “Check on tax position”. It almost certainly won’t be a Christmas card!
HMRC use information received under the Common Reporting Standard to identify those ignoring the Loan Charge
HMRC are writing to taxpayers that have outstanding loans from their EBTs, EFRBs and other offshore structures. HMRC use information received under the Common Reporting Standard to identify those ignoring the Loan Charge. The origins of some of these arrangements go back to the 1990’s and have been “forgotten” – that is until now.
About your offshore income and gains … … …
HMRC are pretty good at grabbing people’s attention by using such headings in their letters to taxpayers. Such letters are often effective because their “intelligence sources” are pretty accurate. I have seen letters in the past where HMRC have even quoted bank account numbers from the outset just to demonstrate how much detail they had at the time. All targeting offshore income and gains.
Are you resolving the issue with HMRC or just kicking the can down the road?
For some, kicking the can into the long grass might be even more preferable. Either way, when the time actually comes to resolving the matter, it will almost certainly be more expensive. And perhaps all you have had in between times is depression and sleepless nights.
HMRC views some tax avoidance schemes as a “misrepresentation of the true nature of events”
According to HMRC, the fine line between tax avoidance and tax evasion has been crossed and deliberately so. HMRC’s unit known as Offshore Corporate and Wealthy (OCW) was established in the wake of the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal in 2016 to investigate serious non-compliance by businesses and the wealthiest taxpayers
It’s alright, it’s tax free!
They say that a little knowledge can be dangerous. Likewise, being self taught off the internet can cause unexpected tax problems. A lot of taxpayers around the work want to be able to say “it’s tax free”.
It’s no secret – it’s just none of your business!
So we have now had another chapter of the saga of secret bank accounts with the Pandora Papers. Just like their forerunners, it makes interesting reading – but so what. The “offshore world” exists because of demand – the demand for discretion and privacy. It’s no secret, it’s just none of your business!