MARD Issued by HMRC on behalf of EU State

[stevevalo]

I have just received a 'Mutual Assistance In the Recovery of Debt (MARD)' from HMRC on behalf of the Germany TAX authorities.

This is for year 2003 & 2004, so there is the debt ~25K and interest ~15K. However there is no information showing how the debt is calculated.

If I have not paid something I own then I will accept this, however I would like to see how the figures add up, I would also like to dispute the amount of interest they have added.

(There is one thread on the forum that returns a hit with MARD although 43 page long it went cold at the end of 2011 and doesn't give a lot of advise).

Where should I start with advice or help on this?

[northernladuk]

Have you read the document in detail? There has to be some form of contact number or email on it. You could start by contacting them for more information? I can't believe they can send you a request for this amount of money and not give you the means to enquire further.

Did you have an accountant the time? Maybe dig his details out in case.

I presume English isn't your first language?

I guess you have seen the links to HMRC in the 43 page thread? This one... http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/MANUALS/dmbmanual/DMBM560025.htm

Maybe speak to these guys?

http://taxdisputes.co.uk/mutual-assi...-by-hmrc-mard/

From what I read on t'interweb you need professional advice, not ours.

[northernladuk]

Here is an interesting document from PWC explaining the situation and what your next steps are...

https://events.pwc.com/uk/eventsmss/...20disputes.pdf

[BlasterBates]

Looks like you would need a German accountant. If your tax is several years late, you can expect a lot of interest. It should have been paid years ago, sounds about right to me.

Presumably you were in Germany between 2003 and 2004, basically try and dig out your invoices and assume a tax take of between 25% and 35% depending on how much you earnt. I'm presuming there's no VAT to pay.

[BolshieBastard]

I have just received a 'Mutual Assistance In the Recovery of Debt (MARD)' from HMRC on behave of the Germany TAX authorities.

This is for year 2003 & 2004, so there is the debt ~25K and interest on ~15K. However there is no information showing how the debt is calculated.

If I have not paid something I own then I will accept this, however I would like to see how the figures add up, I would also like to dispute the amount of interest they have added.

(There is one thread on the forum that returns a hit with MARD although 43 page long it went cold at the end of 2011 and doesn't give a lot of advise).

Where should I start with advice or help on this?

Presumably, you know you paid the tax which is now being demanded? Did you pay the tax on this money earnt in Germany to HMRC \ Inland Revenue by way of a Dual Tax Arrangement (DTA) so you didnt get taxed twice ie once in Germany, once in the uK?

Surely you have an idea if you earnt the money that you paid tax either here or in Germany?

[Wanderer]

Where should I start with advice or help on this?

Might be time to move countries again....

[JamJarST]

Might be time to move countries again....

Really? How is this helpful?

[stevevalo]

Hello again and thank you for the replies.

Yes there is contact details on the letter but I wanted to get other advice, maybe of someone that has been through the pain, before calling.

I have made a few enquiries but no where near the path to sorting this out.

Still reading through that other tread.

I worked there and paid some TAX, not all. Obviously in hindsight I would have done things differently.

If I have never formally been informed of the debt is it possible for them to charge interest?

Can anyone recommend a professional organisation that would help me resolve this?

[BlasterBates]

Hello again and thank you for the replies.

Yes there is contact details on the letter but I wanted to get other advice, maybe of someone that has been through the pain, before calling.

I have made a few enquiries but no where near the path to sorting this out.

Still reading through that other tread.

I worked there and paid some TAX, not all. Obviously in hindsight I would have done things differently.

If I have never formally been informed of the debt is it possible for them to charge interest?

Can anyone recommend a professional organisation that would help me resolve this?

You obviously underdeclared your income and so be pleased they haven't charged penalties, which is quite possible.

Basically if you weren't paying 25-35% of your income in tax, it was illegal/incorrect.

[darmstadt]

I worked there and paid some TAX, not all. Obviously in hindsight I would have done things differently.

If I have never formally been informed of the debt is it possible for them to charge interest?

Can anyone recommend a professional organisation that would help me resolve this?

Thats the sticking point, you paid some tax but didn't pay it all. If you don't pay all tax owed and on time then there are daily penalties which must be paid. Its all part and parcel of being taxed in Germany and they probably did inform you of something like this at one point, probably its written on a tax return somewhere. I had a tax bill for €72,000 one year which had to be paid in 30 days otherwise I would be fined daily. Naturally there is no way that I could pay this so using my German accountant I managed to get it reduced and to pay in 2 instalments. This is one of the reasons why professional contractors get a German accountant to deal with their financial affairs so that this type of problem does not occur. The German tax authorities are hitting everyone hard, not just UK contractors who tried to do a 'fly by night, pay little tax' contracts but also many Germans who try secrete their money outside of Germany.