Touchstone Business Development

[malvolio]

Can someone with some actual experience of these guys, or at least of a comparable scheme (i.e. one that exploits this trust relationship to avoid tax) explain what is actually the level of risk here, what would happen if HMRC caught up with them to find them operating outside of what was intended by the law and what the ramifications might be for a participant?

"Don't be greedy and take it from me that it's not worth it" isn't super helpful, and tbh if your goal is to help other contractors by dissuading them it isn't going to do a very good job. Equally, taking that example from the email infers the wrong intention entirely for their business model, so to say it is about kick backs from agencies misses the point entirely.

I think their email is intentionally vague because of the nature of the workaround. I received the same email, and have actually spoken to them on the phone a couple times where they have been a little more forthcoming about what the model entails:

What they described to me was that you set up a trust, and name their associates who they tell you about as the beneficiaries. You put some money in that trust, and they pay you out 84% of that, which comes from other people in their network who have named you as beneficiaries on their trust. Their role is to facilitate this network and exploit this loophole, and their supporting team and their administration absorbs that remaining 16%

If that's what's actually happening then I'm totally fine with that. You control how much you put in the trust, so if you start small and you don't get your 84% back then you've not really lost anything.

I'm just trying to get a real understanding of what the risks and impacts could be, to determine whether I take a punt on it.

If someone could help out with some proper facts and an open discussion on stuff like this, I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

The tax doesn't just disappear. If you manage to escape HMRC for the rest of your life they will still see it as a taxable income since you have the use of the income from the trust. Then when you die your relatives get hit with a bill for the "avoided" tax plus interest from your estate. That's one reason why there has been worries about IHT in the threads about EBTs

Of course that won't happen. You'll be served with an APN long before that.

Or we're all talking nonsense and it's all perfectly fair and above board. In fact, I wonder why I'm not doing it already.

[MrMarkyMark]

Well, I think they are bloody ace

Go for it seems like a golden opportunity, ignore the haters

[cojak]

Touchstone Business Development

If you want to discuss this I would suggest you find an investors forum. They won't be so fussy will have a greater risk appetite.

[SlipTheJab]

Touchstone Business Development

If you want to discuss this I would suggest to find an investors forum. They won't be so fussy will have a greater risk appetite.

Does he want to exchange a cow for 5 magic beans while he's here?

[DavidSC]

They look suspect to me and don't seem to check out...

I received a phone call and email from these guys and ran it past my accountant. She noticed the disclaimer on the 'Business Illustration' which stated

".. you are not able to become a beneficiary of this Trust."

So they want me to pay into a Trust that I cannot be a beneficiary of - yeah, sure sign me up and take my money!

I also hovered over the website url in the email they sent me and oddly it does not go directly to their website but here: http://e mail.touchstonebd.co.uk/c/e...uylHARomB62Olj[and a lot more of this id]. Looks like a standard 'who clicked me' tracking URL which I find a little underhanded.

With Companies House giving me it's frustratingly frequent '502 Bad Gateway' error I did managed to locate some information here: https://www.companysearchesmadesimpl...pment-limited/

This is the only listing I can find for a company of that name and shows that the company was dissolved in 2000.

All decidedly dodgy and I will be declining their kind offer to give them my money ;-)