Taxes are a fact of life. It is also a fact that no matter how careful your accounting may be, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can select you for a random investigation of your personal or business tax return, without having to tell you why. Being investigated by HM Revenue & Customs has cost many firms across the UK thousands of pounds. It can be disruptive, intrusive and expensive. Often cases can drag on for a year or more, saddling you with spiralling costs and rocketing stress levels.
An investigation may be triggered by an innocent mistake or simply something HMRC see as anomaly on a tax return. Or they may act in response to a tip off, a phone call from an aggrieved partner, or something they spot in a local newspaper or even an overheard conversation in the pub. But they don’t have to have a reason at all. Every taxpayer is at risk of being chosen at any time, purely on a random basis. No one is immune.
We are specialised in the whole range of tax investigations from voluntary disclosures and those conducted at local compliance level right through to cases of serious tax fraud and tax evasion under HMRC’s Code of Practice 9 (COP9) – Contractual Disclosure Facility conducted by HMRC’s Specialist Investigations team. We are able to keep up to date with the latest changes in the enquiry legislation and the current tactics adopted by Tax Inspectors to tackle tax evasion and tax fraud. We also provide VAT Inspection advice and specialise in VAT Fraud cases.
We operate on the basis that all clients receive the highest levels of professional representation, service, courtesy and value for money.
We also offer protection against the costs of a tax enquiry, to take care of our fees and give you real peace of mind that if you become the focus of an enquiry, you will be able to concentrate on your day-to-day business and personal life while we work to bring the matter to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion.
We can assist with issues including:
- Managing tax risks
- All types of tax enquiries and investigations, including PAYE, Self-Assessment, National Insurance, VAT and the Special Compliance Office
- Advice on HMRC powers to demand documentation and information
- Negotiating with HMRC on your behalf, to ensure the best possible outcome to any tax disputes, appeals and tribunals
- Specialist investigations cases, including tax avoidance and fraud
- Due diligence reviews and health checks
- Defence advisory services in tax prosecutions