Fee Protection

Safe from the taxman? Don’t bet on it....

Being investigated by HM Revenue & Customs is no day at the races. It can be disruptive, intrusive and expensive. Sometimes a case can drag on for a year or more, saddling you with spiralling stress levels and mounting costs.

An investigation may be triggered when HMRC pick up something they see as an anomaly on a tax return. Or they may act in response to a tip off, 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.

The facts....

• Anyone who completes a tax return could be selected at random for an investigation. The tax authorities don’t even have to give a reason.
  
• HMRC’s policy director recently stated that it aims to claw back an extra £3.5 billion from tax payers every year until 2008 to set against the revenue lost to tax avoidance and evasion. (1)
  
• Statistics show that, over the last five years, the money clawed back from enquiries has increased by 65%. (2)
  
• Whatever the outcome of the investigation – and it may be that no additional tax or VAT is payable – you will still have to pay our fees to represent you.

Source:	(1) Financial Times October 2005
	(2) Inland revenue/Financial Times January 2005

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