HMRC enquiries for EBT schemes through SANZAR

[MrO666]

Yes, I received a letter a few weeks ago.
I've contacted Contractor Helpdesk who have sent me a template for making an appeal. I'm trying to decide whether to send it in myself or getting a tax accountant to do this on my behalf.

Did you also get hit with the 08-09 letter in March time ?

HMRC stalks Sanzar loan scheme contractors :: Contractor UK

I suspect that contract helpdesk will be very quiet on this one, I doubt that there's any provision for Cobham to lodge anything re this.

[Bakueagle]

I've just received a discovery letter from HRMC relating to my 09/10 employment with Sanzar. I'm sure you get asked this numerous times but could someone give me a summary of the latest status and what the next steps are? I've seen something about contacting the Contractors helpdesk. Anything else i should know?

Thanks in advance

[z4thras]

Did you also get hit with the 08-09 letter in March time ?

HMRC stalks Sanzar loan scheme contractors :: Contractor UK

I suspect that contract helpdesk will be very quiet on this one, I doubt that there's any provision for Cobham to lodge anything re this.

I am stil waiting to hear from Contractor Helpdesk.. are they getting you to submit your own appeal or using CM as per 08/09?

Regards

[MrO666]

I am stil waiting to hear from Contractor Helpdesk.. are they getting you to submit your own appeal or using CM as per 08/09?

Regards

I could be wrong, but I think CH will wash their hands of this one. I'm sure Sanzar knew damn well this was coming hence why they did a moonlight flit.

I have no doubt that other companies such as Garraway, Winchester and Darwin (to name but a few) will be doing the same very soon, I suspect they too will vanish and the scheme providers getting away without any form of penalty at all.......plus with 15 - 20% of your money.

I think this will be the complete death of all avoidance schemes, after all no matter what the salespeople of these schemes tell you, it's clear from recent events that HMRC will find a way around any form of reassurance that the scheme provider gives.

Anybody still using these schemes must have rocks in their head.............it's purely a matter of time before you'll get a letter again.

[fatpug]

Did you also get hit with the 08-09 letter in March time ?

HMRC stalks Sanzar loan scheme contractors :: Contractor UK

I suspect that contract helpdesk will be very quiet on this one, I doubt that there's any provision for Cobham to lodge anything re this.

I wasn't with Sanzar back in 08-09 so this is the first I have heard from HMRC.

From my emails with Contractor Helpdesk, Cobham won't be doing the appeals for the 2010/2011 tax year.

[MrO666]

I wasn't with Sanzar back in 08-09 so this is the first I have heard from HMRC.

From my emails with Contractor Helpdesk, Cobham won't be doing the appeals for the 2010/2011 tax year.

And that to me is a clear indication that they know how weak their scheme was and hence won't even attempt to defend it.......to the detriment of the scheme users.

I honestly do believe that all other scheme providers will vanish very soon......they know the game is up and don't want to waste money they've got from you in defending them.

[MrO666]

Does anybody know what the Sanzar DOTAS numbers for 08/09 / 09/10 and 10/11 were ?

If anyone has them can they please PM them to me.

[cojak]

I wasn't with Sanzar back in 08-09 so this is the first I have heard from HMRC.

From my emails with Contractor Helpdesk, Cobham won't be doing the appeals for the 2010/2011 tax year.

And that to me is a clear indication that they know how weak their scheme was and hence won't even attempt to defend it.......to the detriment of the scheme users.

I honestly do believe that all other scheme providers will vanish very soon......they know the game is up and don't want to waste money they've got from you in defending them.

And that is because of the 2011 Finance Bill...

The attack on EBTs, announced in December 2010 and confirmed in the Finance Bill on 31 March 2011, means that employees, beneficiaries or trustees of EBTs need to evaluate the continuing usefulness of these structures.
[From http://www.contractoruk.com/ebt/]

More details here:

Forsters - Practice areas - Private Client - Newsletters & Articles

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget-update...11/drl-faq.pdf

[MrO666]

And that is because of the 2011 Finance Bill...



More details here:

Forsters - Practice areas - Private Client - Newsletters & Articles

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget-update...11/drl-faq.pdf

Thanks for this info, however I don't think anybody on here used the schemes in question past March 2011, so once again I guess it brings us back round to the age old retro-tax question.

As soon as HMRC said you can't do this anymore, then I think everyone stopped (which is rightly so), I fail to see how they feel that they can say it was OK (well legal) until March 2011, but actually we think we'll try and make you pay tax on it for previous years too, just because we want to and we don't like your moral stance, and nothing to do with the fact that what you were doing wasn't against ANY law.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Thanks for this info, however I don't think anybody on here used the schemes in question past March 2011, so once again I guess it brings us back round to the age old retro-tax question.

As soon as HMRC said you can't do this anymore, then I think everyone stopped (which is rightly so), I fail to see how they feel that they can say it was OK (well legal) until March 2011, but actually we think we'll try and make you pay tax on it for previous years too, just because we want to and we don't like your moral stance, and nothing to do with the fact that what you were doing wasn't against ANY law.

HMRC are saying that even though they introduced legislation in Dec 2010 to stop these schemes, the schemes never worked anyway.

They've pulled the same crap with us claiming, after they introduced BN66, that they never needed it to defeat the scheme.

We learned quite quickly that you can't believe anything they say.