HMRC Enquiry letters on Loans from EBT and other schemes

[administrator]

I've asked Admin for PM rights guys.

All sorted.

[bonetired]

All sorted.

Thanks

[centurian]

But if HMRC lost it and I am also going to press charges for extreme stress. Seems like our life's and our families lifes have come to standstill.

Little chance I'm afraid, unless you can prove they knew they would lose and this was nothing more than a scare tactic. HMRC have every right to challenge tax avoidance schemes. Most of these schemes hinge on the narrowest of interpretations, so it's impossible to tell if it is truly legal or not - until it goes in front of a judge.

Also, and I might get flamed for this, but while I understand that many have had a very bad weekend, I don't see this situation as entirely HMRC's fault (assuming they haven't breached procedure/law in this process).

Anyone participating in agressive tax avoidance schemes should be fully prepared for the brown envelope to hit the doormat, both financially and mentally, for 6 years after leaving the scheme.

The fact that so many are not, causes me to wonder how good the original advice / marketing blurb provided by the scheme providers. Did they sufficiently warn you that this day might come - and of the financial consequences.

But chin up - you need to pace yourself - this is going to drag out for months at best - and more likely, years.

[Penguin]

However based on the comments here the initial feeling of feeling confident about a successful appeal have receded somewhat....

I feel the same. I was with Sanzar who have disappeared (despite the fact that people are saying they are now Garraway, they are not admitting any link). So if there are any Sanzar people who want to join up, let me know.

The amount I owe is not going to bankrupt me, but on principal I want to fight because I still feel they should not be able to raise a Discovery Assessment against me when they had all the facts on my tax return!!. However I am wavering as to whether this is the right thing to do because I am worrying about costs building up and leaving me with an even bigger, bankrupting-type bill due to legal costs

[Bristolboy]

Penfolds?

Thanks to everyone for your insight and helpful comments.

I too have received a letter for the 08/09 tax year during which time I was employed by Penfolds Ltd. Does anyone have a contact person for Penfolds (as I believe Katie Toft has moved on and she was my contact person)?

[SantaClaus]

Little chance I'm afraid, unless you can prove they knew they would lose and this was nothing more than a scare tactic. HMRC have every right to challenge tax avoidance schemes. Most of these schemes hinge on the narrowest of interpretations, so it's impossible to tell if it is truly legal or not - until it goes in front of a judge.

Also, and I might get flamed for this, but while I understand that many have had a very bad weekend, I don't see this situation as entirely HMRC's fault (assuming they haven't breached procedure/law in this process).

Anyone participating in agressive tax avoidance schemes should be fully prepared for the brown envelope to hit the doormat, both financially and mentally, for 6 years after leaving the scheme.

The fact that so many are not, causes me to wonder how good the original advice / marketing blurb provided by the scheme providers. Did they sufficiently warn you that this day might come - and of the financial consequences.

But chin up - you need to pace yourself - this is going to drag out for months at best - and more likely, years.

Of course, if it wasn't for the whole sorry mess known as IR35, many people wouldn't have sought out tax avoidance schemes in the first place.

[Mr Tom]

White Collar

Was with White Collar in 2008/2009. Got the HMRC 2008/2009 Party Invite on Saturday morning. Have emailed White Collar over the weekend to ask for advice and will see what transpires in the next few days.

[Doug]

Cascade

Hi folks,

I got the 08/09 letter yesterday demanding way much more money that I could possibly repay (and these days no longer contract nor earn anything like as much as I did in those glory days). I'm also father of 2 young kids so have a bit more to lose these days than I did then..I guess there are others in a similar circumstance.

I have yet to contact Cascade as it is the weekend - however a quote from "Michael J Perry" does make sense.



If the admin's have no issue - would it be possible to update my account so I can get PM's, what I suggest is all people who are effected specifically by Cascade form a group (we can start a private google + hangout), so whilst it would be ideal if Cascade do the right thing if that fails then we can try and work together and get representation (as surely our situation must be very similar). I don't know about others but I also think it would be a good thing so we can chat about it with people who are in the same situation, I know for me its quite a heavy burden and I don't really want to talk to anyone who is going to give me the "I told you so" talk... so having some "friends" would help. Obviously don't want to do this too publicly on this forum as we know HMRC are surely going to be reading...

Big thanks to Michael J Perry and DonkeyRhubarb for being so active and helpful.

Cascade effected people - if you reply to the comment on this thread to say you want to join at least we can have a show of hands...

Good luck to all...

Hi Costo, varunksingh, paulie14, delboy15, smgrant78,

Also in a similar position having been with Cascade up to early 2009.

Agree that it’s a good idea to create a group to collectively consider all options.

Varun – I'd be interested in your views after your visit to Cascade this week (I’m no longer based in the UK).

Appreciate everyone’s efforts, comments and advice.

[Doug]

Thanks to everyone for your insight and helpful comments.

I too have received a letter for the 08/09 tax year during which time I was employed by Penfolds Ltd. Does anyone have a contact person for Penfolds (as I believe Katie Toft has moved on and she was my contact person)?

Bristolboy - Penfolds Ltd was the employer for the structure offered through Cascade (and possibly other contractor solution providers?).

[Michael J Perry FCA]

If you want more information read this

The weekend brought to my attention that there was some confusion about whether certain schemes were EBT's or not. Whether advances were loans or profit share.

Generally I do not advise people to delve into the technical side too much but it is better to read definitive information if you must and this can simply be found on HMRC's website at HM Revenue & Customs: Home Page

The most important information is contained here:

Employee Benefit Trusts
• Employee Benefit trusts, settlement opportunity
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is offering employers who have used Employee Benefit trusts ('EBT') (and similar arrangements) the opportunity to resolve outstanding enquiries.
Settlement Opportunity update
• Update announcement
This update provides an overview of developments since April 2011
Frequently asked questions
• FAQs (PDF 166K)
In conjunction with the above update, this range of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) are designed to help explain to customers more fully how their liabilities will be calculated

I repeat below another scenario which many people have asked me about:

Originally Posted by jjj
So it is possible and/or likely HMRC are going to send letters out for years before 08/09 e.g. 04/05, 05/06 & 07/8?

MJP ANSWER:
This is why I keep saying that cases cannot be dealt with on a group basis. The tax investigation system does not work that way. All professional advice on this forum is generalised ONLY.

One contractor might have just received a 2008/09 assessment on ONE scheme and never heard from HMRC previously.

Another colleague with the SAME circumstances might have 2004/05, 2005,06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 under investigation by HMRC Specialist Investigations office already with 2010/11 added last year by an HMRC LCO and a 2008/09 assessment as well this month. In addition, this person might have ongoing enquiries with HMRC into ALL THREE schemes they both used.

This is NOT a hypothetical example.

AND MAY I PLEASE REPEAT:

I will be deluged this week, so please bear with me as I need to prioritise clients that have now engaged my firm to act on their behalf. Thank you for your support to date.