Originally posted by emanresu
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For now it seems to be localised at the door of Ntrinsic. I received further information this week that confirms the visit by the BTA. They took seizure of all documents in the offices, and cloned all employees hard drives. They did not disclose specifics about what they were seeking, and the company now consider that they, and those using them, are under tax fraud investigation
Take the case of Connexions. They fined them some 2million Euros (or so it was rumoured). It would not be too much of a stretch of the imagination to assume the BTA think they can get a large penalty from Ntrinsic, and have more chance of seeing it paid, than by pursuing individuals. In the end Connexions went bust, and did a Phoenix, but not before they skanked a whole heap of cash from some frightened and ill advised contractors.
Most corporate clients have insurance, backed by teams of lawyers, to challenge such actions should they be considered complicit, but you and I don't! Action against Bluechips is unlikely given the layers of contract law that gets spread between the Contractor and the end client.
However, if individuals have been under declaring for years, have bought a house, and have other assets in Belgium, be assured they will be a person of some interest. The law was changed in Belgium in 2008/9, and this change allows the BTA to go back 7 years when assessing unpaid dues. Of course proving you have been doing naughties [sic] is another matter
Two weeks ago an accountant was arrested and held by the Police for 10 hours without being able to consult a lawyer, or have any outside contact. He was denied any refreshment, and was subjected to a sustained ‘good cop bad cop’ routine. The Police were investigating a tax fraud case, and believed the accountant was withholding information about this case. He wasn’t, and was eventually released, but you can assume he was more than happy to ‘spill his guts’ on all he knew of the client.
I know this happened, as I know the people involved!
The Police in Belgium are able to hold you for questioning without any representation for as long as they deem necessary. OK There are some limits, but there is no PACE act here! Only after they are done with you, can you seek legal representation, or call your wife/partner/significant other. By this time they hope to have extracted a confession and supporting evidence from you. If you refuse to cooperate, they whisk you off to court, and into a remand prison while they continue to investigate.
It is important to note here, that this only occurs if they are investigating a criminal matter, e.g. Serious Tax Fraud. No need for you all to loose your bowels just yet!
The man on the Clapham omnibus when presented with this dilemma, would probably suggest a good exit strategy for anyone who may have been doing some creative accounting over the years, and who have recently been contracting through Ntrinsic.
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