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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet

Help Interview with revnue

the electrician
Posts:3
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:43 pm

Postby the electrician » Mon Oct 09, 2006 12:23 pm

Help
My company is currently under investigation from the revenue for years 2004/2005
I have given them all information they have asked for but they say they need to interview me to understand how my company opertates.
My account declined he offer at first saying i was a busy man and we could answer any questions in writting.
My accountant didn't fill me with confirdance so i sought independant advice from a local consultant ,his advice was to refuse to the interview at all costs
Then we recived a second letter asking agin for the interview ,we again declined
we have just recieved a third letter and my accountant wants me to talk to them because in his experience this prevents any deeper investigation and a deal can be done.
But i'm worried i will say something by mistake.
The issue is with employment status of sub contractors.
Should i hold out or speak with them

Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Thank you

Bob Jones
Posts:268
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:43 pm

Postby Bob Jones » Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:28 pm

Being ex Revenue my advice would always be to attend the interview and cooperate. Has it been explained to you that if there is tax owing at the end of the day and if this can be attributed to your neglect there could be a penalty in addition to the tax and the interest. The starting point of the penalty is 100% of the tax but that is reduced - usually considerably reduced - for three reasons one of which is cooperation. None co-operation therefore can have a detrimental affect on the final tax bill. You refer to "..a deal can be done.." so it sounds as though a penalty situation could apply in this case.I am a liitle concerned by your statement "..I am worried I will say something by mistake..." - my advice would always tell the truth. If in addition to being un cooperative you are found to be giving eg false information this increases the seriousness of the case and/or has an effect on the disclosure aspect - both of which have a direct bearing on the amount of the penalty. If the "other side" refuse the interview HMRC will think that they have something to hide... I think you should speak to them .....

Bob Jones
Internet Taxation Ltd
bob@internet-taxation.co.uk

wamstax
Posts:2019
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:39 pm
Location:Operate Nationally but based in Aberdeen
Contact:

Postby wamstax » Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:36 pm

As ex-revenue like Bob I would always encourage you to tell the truth. The truth always tells twice whereas lies trip you up when you are trying to second guess what the HMRC is after. However while I can go along with Bob about attending meetings I would also say that you don't go to a meeting if you are not prepared for it. The HMRC will usually have prepared a detailed brief ready to tackle your problem from every possible angle and to go in ill prepared is worse than not going in at all. I would however point out that in any Company Enquiry you are not obliged to attend any meeting (see page 8 of COP14 Booklet) but if you decide to attend you are very much at liberty to ask for an agenda of all the subjects to be disussed and nature of the questions to be asked. You might find the following link useful in preparing for any meeting http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/employers/tmaemp ... oyed.shtml AND

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pdfs/ir56.htm

if you decide to take the HMRC up on their invitation to attend a meeting (that is all it is as they cannot treat non-attendance as a lack of cooperation unless it is in the serious enquiries area carried out by CIF etc teams.
Possibly the links will arm your accountant a bit better for representing you but I would never recommend going into a meeting with someone you don't have confidence in protecting your company's interests.
regards and hope this helps
http://www.wamstaxltd.com
Operates Nationally with competitive costs
and email and phone contact (mob 07751720507) can be obtained from websites

wamstax
Posts:2019
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:39 pm
Location:Operate Nationally but based in Aberdeen
Contact:

Postby wamstax » Mon Oct 09, 2006 2:52 pm

Another good source of information to get you as armed as possible to attend any meeting could be

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/leaflets/c7.htm

and go for IR148 or IR56 booklets. It would also be best to ensure that you know who is conducting the enquiry - for example status of subcontractors would invariably be employer compliance units however should they find that something is wrong in that area then they may well refer the matter to the Company Inspector. Alternatively the Company Inspector may well be already involved and should this be the case then of course you have to consider that the enquiry may be more wide ranging than you first thought. An agenda of topics and nature of enquiries would give a good key as to how far reaching questioning would be and enable you to consult an investigation specialist to ensure that you know what you are getting into...
Bill S
bill@wamstaxltd.com
regards and hope this helps
http://www.wamstaxltd.com
Operates Nationally with competitive costs
and email and phone contact (mob 07751720507) can be obtained from websites

Lawrence McAulay 01
Posts:191
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:39 pm

Postby Lawrence McAulay 01 » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:28 am

If you are confident that you are well prepared, well represented and in a position to gain an advantage from the meeting, then agree to one by all means.

Otherwise, refuse. Do it politely, explaining that you are in a far better positon to provide comprehensive and considered replies to questions in a letter than in a meeting. Always make sure you respond promptly, openly and politely and you should win all the 'cooperation' brownie points.

I have attended several meetings with the Revenue, but generally resist the idea. Most meetings have been conducted professionally, but several were used by the Inspector to make sarcastic observations about the client's apparent wealth and spending, in the hope of unsettling him and pushing him to agree to the Inspector's ridiculous estimates of his income - this was nothing to do with telling the truth or otherwise.

The Revenue have no right to insist on a meeting and no call to treat your unwillingness to have a meeting as non-cooperation.

the electrician
Posts:3
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:43 pm

Postby the electrician » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:42 pm

Thank you all for taking the time to offer your advice.
I have contacted my accountant and requested an agenda before we go any further.
I agree i need to be more prepaired before i attend and hopefully an agenda will give me a better understanding .

the Electrician

One Eyed Jack
Posts:17
Joined:Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:04 pm

Postby One Eyed Jack » Thu Nov 30, 2006 4:24 am

The point about saying the wrong thing at a meeting is a good one.
The man in the street uses words differently from a tax inspector. For example: when a builder talks about his work force he will often use the term "employees", quite innocently to describe both self employed subbies and employees. This sort of thing is pounced on by status inspectors and taken as an admission of employee status; when in fact it is nothing of the kind.


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