BN66 - Time to fight back!!!

[malvolio]

If HMRC become aware of an abuse surely they should act to close it down as soon as possible, not wait 7 years until it gets completely out of hand and then have to resort to a retrospective measure to deal with it?

You're assuming Hector has time and resources to check all such things continuously. Reality is he will only pick up things on his radar once they become significant and justify diverting work from other areas. Almost certainly this whole thing has arisen because some junior wonk was doing some comparative analyses

[DonkeyRhubarb]

You're assuming Hector has time and resources to check all such things continuously. Reality is he will only pick up things on his radar once they become significant and justify diverting work from other areas. Almost certainly this whole thing has arisen because some junior wonk was doing some comparative analyses

I believe over 100 people, including myself, have had their 2001/2 tax return under formal enquiry since mid-2003. So, not only did Hector (Special Compliance Office) pick it up over 5 years ago, he also thought it significant enough to jump on it immediately. It strikes me as incompetent to then take 5 years to do anything about it.

This is the letter many of us received 5 years ago, except this one is dated Jan 04.

http://www.ir35amnesty.com/irenq.asp

[smalldog]

for whatever reason I cant see it stacking up in court that they knew about it but decided not to act until it became worth a certain amount. Its legitimate or it isnt, the amount of potential loss to HMRC does not in any way relate to its legitimacy.

And taking the point, about criminal activity. They dont get let off say their first rape or murder until their offences reach a certain level and, then get prosecuted for all of the past ignored offences if they reoffend. Thats basically what HMRC are doing in this instance.

Donkey, IMHO SA enquiries should only be allowed to remain open for a fixed number of years, thatm ight spur them to get off their ass and actually do something! If they only had say 3 years to hold and SA open all of this would have been sorted a long time ago.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

I believe over 100 people, including myself, have had their 2001/2 tax return under formal enquiry since mid-2003. So, not only did Hector (Special Compliance Office) pick it up over 5 years ago, he also thought it significant enough to jump on it immediately. It strikes me as incompetent to then take 5 years to do anything about it.

This is the letter many of us received 5 years ago, except this one is dated Jan 04.

http://www.ir35amnesty.com/irenq.asp

PS. The sharks behind the ir35amnesty site have been working in cahoots with the Specials and offering deals for the past 5 years!

[smalldog]

Donkey, they maybe sharks, parasites etc etc but if MontP dont win this I will be in touch with them real soon. I dont want the hassle or stress of dealing with Hector directly and if they can get me a reduced fee then I wouldnt cut my nose off to spite my face yada yada.....I wouldnt like doing it as I feel HMRC havent played fair, but hey thats the government!

I feel it would be fair for us to all pay tax for the schemes first year of operation. That is a fair commpromise between hector not acting quickly enough and us paying something if the scheme is shown to be invalid. but hey who am I to negotiate!

[ContractIn]

PS. The sharks behind the ir35amnesty site have been working in cahoots with the Specials and offering deals for the past 5 years!

Just looking at the link http://www.ir35amnesty.com/schemes.asp

and specifically the paragraph below, which sounds familiar:


"IR35 Amnesty agrees with them that in joining their Scheme their clients have not done anything wrong. Furthermore if their scheme "works" then the Inland Revenue would close the enquiry without collecting any additional tax from the Contractor as per http://www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk/leaflets/cop11.htm. This company has also stated that they are so confident that their IR35 Tax Scheme works that, if necessary, they will defend it all the way to the House of Lords. In which case their Clients could be in a position of uncertainty for a period of 3 to 7 years (this is the typical time that it takes for a tax case to reach the House of Lords)."

If this is the case then to me the best option would be, if feasible, to get CTD's and sit on them. If MTM win then you have a nice welcome return at the end, if not then you are not liable for any interest incurred over the period.

[BrilloPad]

PS. The sharks behind the ir35amnesty site have been working in cahoots with the Specials and offering deals for the past 5 years!

Who is behing this? Is it another Tim Warr thing?

[ContractIn]

I believe over 100 people, including myself, have had their 2001/2 tax return under formal enquiry since mid-2003. So, not only did Hector (Special Compliance Office) pick it up over 5 years ago, he also thought it significant enough to jump on it immediately. It strikes me as incompetent to then take 5 years to do anything about it.

This is the letter many of us received 5 years ago, except this one is dated Jan 04.

http://www.ir35amnesty.com/irenq.asp

Hi Donkey

What was your response to these letters?

[smalldog]

contractin, some of us have been in the scheme so long any CTD would require a substantial amount to be deposited, like 6 figures!! not exactly an amount I can easily get to in a hurry without some serious sacrifice and borrowing on my part which would probably be at a higher rate than HMRC charge so whats the point....its fine if you would only be looking at say £10k or have money slushing around...but if you are looking at a £100k bill totally different ball game....

[ContractIn]

contractin, some of us have been in the scheme so long any CTD would require a substantial amount to be deposited, like 6 figures!! not exactly an amount I can easily get to in a hurry without some serious sacrifice and borrowing on my part which would probably be at a higher rate than HMRC charge so whats the point....its fine if you would only be looking at say £10k or have money slushing around...but if you are looking at a £100k bill totally different ball game....

Yes I agree, I was with them for just under 3 years so have considerably more than a 10k liability, in fact will wipe me out in terms of being back to square one.

I am in the process of re-mortgaging so I have upped the limit to cover what I think my liability would be. Problem is I will be on a much higher mortgage rate with an increased mortgage.

Believe me this is an extremely worrying time.