re tax investigation

[fedupofitall]

hi
new to this forum but need some advice
i have had an enquiry now since last october 09 for june2006--june2007
i have a tax consultant though he is dealing with it i feel something more should be done
i have had a meeting (only 15mins-- seemed a waste of time as this could of been done by writing to them) of questions they sent me but didn't even ask all of them
as i did not keep till rolls i gave them my private bank account statements which they asked for--- i have nothing to hide so was not to bothered about this
they seem to take a break then come back with questions i have already answered
how long does this go on for or can i ask them if they could close as it seems to going round in circles and getting nowhere
the tax inspector seems incapable as the meeting notes she sent were wrong and had to be ammended as she wrote things i had not said or done
i have done everthing they have asked so if there was something why can't they just say so i could explain and get it over with

[wamstax]

Ok it's possibly a bit late but not keeping till rolls is not the end of the world. All that the taxes act required was that you kept sufficient records to enable you to make a complete and correct return. It does not say you must keep till rolls and in fact I have known VAT officers in the past who had said that the client didn't require to keep the whole till rolls as long as they kept the till tails (a.k.a. Z readings). So if you maintained sufficient records to enable you to file a complete and correct there would have been no reason to automatically give up your personal bank accounts.

You do not say what their concern was. Surely they must have had concerns with your tax return that enabled them to convince your consultant to provide the personal bank accounts in a meeting which you say lasted 15 minutes. Merely having you not keeping the till rolls (I take it this means the audit rolls as opposed to Z readings) would not appear to give them an automatic right to see the personal bank accounts. Mind you I have seen the odd case where I have provided the personal bank statements to HMRC early as they didn't raise any questions or possible avenues for HMRC to go off on a tangent with their intrusive questioning (did I say inquisition?) to satisfy their nosiness. Did they provide any reasons for being disatisfied with your return?

You say that you had nothing to hide but you do not say that there was nothing wrong with your accounting profits. It would depend on the scenario but if you are convinced or definitely know that there was nothing wrong then I would be bullish and tell them "to put up or shut up". However you really do need to talk things over with your consultant. If he is an HMRC puppet (merely meekly giving them whatever they ask for without putting forward timetables and "his" requirements in return) then you need to get rid. If however he has some gameplan - that he presently hasn't enlightened you on - then he needs to keep you up to speed if for no other reason that lowering your stress levels. Feel free to come back if there is anything you can add

[fedupofitall]

hi
thanks for your reply
i did not keep the z's either so this was there first foot in the door to my private account
their concern was that we did not put all drawings through the accounts
their 1st letter to me said it was under 12AC of taxes management 1970
once records were checked at premises they wrote back asking for invoices that were there but they had missed them and bank details as all drawings had not been recorded
i think my consultant is ok as he as refused things like the meeting unless questions were sent first in which they were trying to get out of but did send in the end after he refused a meeting and spoke with her manager but they wrote back with the questions stating they would lead to further questions why i don't know

consulant came 1 hour before meeting to go through things in detail but it seemed worthless as she was uncomfortable throughout and i think thats why she only stayed 15 mins
when thay sent the notes most of the things siad were all wrong
so we had to send them back ammended
after explaining ban deposits she was still not happy with some as my mother lives with me and contributes £150.00 per week she then wrote back asking for my mothers bank statements from 06--07
consultant wrote back telling her NO
there was also a deposit for a car i sold and she wanted to know reg of car and name of buyer it was 4 years ago and only for £600.00
i don't know for certain but i got an inheritance in 2007 for a lot of money in which i paid off my mortgage and did some development in the shop with the remaining and i am still recieving bits here and there as it is not tied up yet (mainly shares)but all taxes have been paid on this as my father was domiciled abroad so maybe this is what prompted them in the first place but its a nightmare with all these silly questions that i have already explained to them
i just hope it ends soon

[mullet]

To be perfectly frank, I think HMRC's questions are unavoidable given that your records are incomplete and that you have some non-business money to explain and justify. Re your Mum's statements ... why not provide them, but with everything except the weekly amounts paid to you blacked out. Surely that would be easier than arguing? They will almost certainly want to explore the inheritance as well.

[graham174]

Hi,

HMRC are devoting increasing staff time to investigations and this kind of scanario
sadly often deteriorates into a game of 'cat and mouse' whereby HMRC prolong the
process with the object of stressing the subject taxpayer and exacerbating his
compliance costs. However, I have found, especially in cases that drag on, a
request for a Closure Notice tends to speed things up again. From what you have
said I doubt you would be granted a Closure Notice yet, but I have known cases where
HMRC have been told to 'wrap-up' investigations within a stated time-scale, thus
reducing the stress factor for the taxpayer. I hope this helps.

Graham Funnell 01209 821983
Tax Consultant

[wamstax]

While the inspector has reasonable grounds for being intrusive a spurious "closure notice application" will only serve to harden the investigators stance and lead to higher fees. Much better to be realistic and deal with the facts of each case without a one shape fits all.