Originally posted by DonkeyRhubarb
View Post
-
Mmmmm that's depressing, our only hope then (slim as it is) is the FTT? -
I wouldn't go quite that far. There's always an outside chance the Strasbourg court will see things differently.Originally posted by OneUnited View Post
It's a bit galling that 3 years on they still haven't even considered the application. It makes a bit of a mockery of the concept of justice.Comment
-
Is the argument just purely on one article of the Human Rights Act or is it on our treatment and denial of a fair trial in the first place?Originally posted by DonkeyRhubarb View PostComment
-
It's mainly A1P1 - retrospection. I think it also cites discrimination. Not sure about Article 6, right to a fair trial.Originally posted by lucozade View PostComment
-
Interesting Article in FT
Hi
I've recently come across this site and follow some of you on Twitter. You have done some great work raising the issue around DOTAS and APN's and I tahnk you. I am also caught up in this mess, although not in a EBT scheme but in a number of film schemes sold to me by a Big 4 accountancy firm. I have good knowledge of how these schemes work and the actions HMRC is taking against them so I am happy to help in the future if I can- e.g HMRC hasn't offered a deal to Ingenious investors - the 40% settlement offer has been out for 18 months and its based on what HMRC expects to achieve in court - i.e. in line with its settlement strategy.
Below is an article in Saturdays FT which is one of the balanced articles I have read. I am in the Eclipse scheme and now face a tax liability which is 7x's my original investment as HMRC is seeking not only to claw back all relief but then tax me on income which I have never had the benefit of. Given my position I have offered to repay all tax relief plus interest (which I can afford), but instead they are asking for an amount which is 3x's larger (which I can't pay).
HMRC are totally out of control and I find the comments from Jim Harra particularly offensive. He states that we are not "hard working" and we deserve everything we get. Since when did it become OK for HMRC to pass moral judgement? Isn't it just supposed to be a collection agent of the crown?
Like many of you I am waiting for the DOTAS notice to come through and I am resigned to losing my house and possibly my marriage over this.
-------
Bankruptcy looms for tax scheme investors
Investors in tax arrangements that are the focus of a government crackdown face potential financial ruin, advisers warned, as their clients are landed with tax demands well in excess of their initial investments.
While a growing number of investors seek redress against promoters of tax-saving schemes, bills from the tax authority for their involvement threaten personal wealth beyond the amount of tax saved.
Investors in an array of schemes that involved heavy borrowing to leverage tax-saving arrangements face demands to pay tax on their partnerships’ “sub-licensing” payments, which HM Revenue & Customs treats as income and therefore liable for tax.
One investor in a film partnership currently under scrutiny told the Financial Times that the tax bill outlined in a recent letter from the tax authority leaves him facing the prospect of bankruptcy.
The Eclipse partnership which he entered involved a highly leveraged investment to buy the distribution rights to films including Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest, with intentional operational losses qualifying for income tax relief.
In what he describes as “an incredibly aggressive stance”, the investor says HMRC has requested tax on partnership income that was never received by individual investors. The tax bill that he and fellow investors face is many times greater than the amount put in.
“From a total investment of around £300,000, I anticipate a final liability of seven or eight times what I put in,” he says. “It’s absolutely life-changing.”
Tina Riches, national tax partner at Smith & Williamson, said that many scheme investors, particularly those who have retired or are on modest incomes today, are vulnerable.
“For every celebrity that hits the headlines, there are another 50 members of the public facing potential hardship [as a result of the clampdown],” said Martin Taylor, head of client relations at Rebus, a claims management firm. “There are a lot of worried people out there.”
For every celebrity that hits the headlines, there are another 50 members of the public facing potential hardship. There are a lot of worried people out there
- Martin Taylor, Rebus
In a statement, the tax authority said that where loans have been used “to artificially inflate the losses claimed” by a scheme investor . . . “this may give rise to unexpected tax consequences for the users if HMRC don’t agree the scheme works as intended, beyond the amount expected to be avoided”.
A tribunal found in HMRC’s favour against Eclipse 35, a scheme from the same promoter, Future Capital Partners. The group is confident of overturning this verdict at the court of appeal next year.
In correspondence last month, the tax authority said that it views other Eclipse schemes as “nearly identical in structure” to Eclipse 35.
In an earlier letter to the investor, also seen by the FT, HMRC requested that he pay a sum of almost £900,000 within 28 days of receipt. The notice – which was appealed – recommended payment via cheque, debit or credit card payment.
The investor said an offer to pay the total personal tax relief enjoyed, plus interest, was rejected outright by the tax authority. “If I had stashed my money away in Switzerland, there’s a hotline that I could have called to settle [the disputed tax] . . . Where’s my deal?”
Michael Avient, personal tax partner at UHY Hacker Young, said: “It is quite clear that the Revenue have been told that they need to collect more tax [from scheme investors]. The Revenue will quite happily bankrupt someone.”
HMRC dismisses these claims. Although it does not discuss individual cases, the authority said that “instalment arrangements will be available for those who genuinely need them. HMRC has an outstanding record in supporting those with payment problems.”
The Revenue’s increasingly hard line against taxpayers deemed to have avoided tax is, however, reflected by comments made this week by one of its senior officers.
Jim Harra, director-general of business tax at HMRC, said that the people taking up such schemes are not the “hardworking” majority. “They are the 43,000 affluent people who knowingly signed up to an avoidance scheme in full awareness they were using artificial arrangements to reduce their tax bill. I have no sympathy for these people.”Comment
-
Perhaps we should take a leaf out of the Scientologist's campaign against the IRS.
Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt - NYTimes.com
And hire private detectives to dig into the private lives of senior HMRC officials like Jim Harra, and Ministers like Gauke while we're at it.
They have conveniently provided an Org chart.
https://www.gov.uk/government/upload...2014-07-01.pdfComment
-
-
-
43,000 taxpayers
Set up a fund to go to war with HMRC/Ministers.
Ask for donations, minimum £100.
Raise a few £million.
Hire an army of private detectives to dig for dirt.Comment
-
Please let me know the sort code and account numberOriginally posted by DonkeyRhubarb View PostComment
Comment