Investigation question re: school fees

[elephant]

My husband is being investigated. My mother who lives and earns in Germany pays our childrens school fees. My husband has been asked to produce my mother's bank statements to confirm this. My mother has been advised by her accountant in Germany not to.
Is the investigator pushing his luck, and what should my husband do?

[accountant@uktaxshop]

It is hard to say without knowing the exact circumstances of why you are being investigated and what they are driving at.

I imagine what they are trying to do is asking to prove your level of expenditure along the lines of "how can you afford XYZ on a salary of 123" – where is the missing income coming from?

The school may for example be able to confirm who pays the fees, which may satisfy this line of enquiry. This would avoid the need to release the bank statements.

In these sort of circumstances having a professional advisor is really helpful - the IR seem to hit the unrepresented much harder than those who are not, partly because you will be seen as a soft target and partly because an advisor will understand what the IR are driving at, and more importantly when their interpretations of the tax rules can be challenged.

Regards,

James Smith
Chartered Accountant
www.uktaxshop.co.uk
01284 764436