| WAMS Tax Ltd |
| Tax Enquiry & Investigation- The Crucial Stages |
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Step 1- The letter arrives - the envelope arrives just as
you were getting ready for an enjoyable weekend away.
Why is it HMRC always plan the letter to arrive on a Friday?
If you have an accountant acting he/she will get details of
the information and/or documents they consider they need
and HMRC will put dictate a date for your response. The
letter can be from a local office or one of the specialist
offices or teams and it can be an enquiry into one or two
Aspects of your return or a Full blown enquiry into all
matters in your return(s).
Each type of enquiry needs it's own response and Bill can
handle these to your best advantage. Do not assume that
just any practitioner can successfully handle tax enquiry
cases as an enquiry started badly can create more
problems than it solves. Don't also believe you are getting
the best from the home. Each enquiry needs its own
strategy and all Bill will need from you is the truth and your
trust that he can minimise your bill to your best possible
advantage. Of course it has to be a legal way of minimising
your bill otherwise we both end up in trouble.
Stage 2- You respond - It is at this stage that Enquiries
and Investigations are either won or lost. How you handle it
sets the scene for the enquiry. Handle it wrong and you
could be in for a drawn out enquiry or worse an escalation
to formal powers being used.
If we can sit down and discuss matters we should be able to
see a way to
(a) giving HMRC the comfort they need to close the
enquiry
(b) managing the enquiry to resolve it to your best
advantage within the law
(c) casting an expert eye over your books and
records before HMRC's expert gets at them
You can rest assured that with Bill's involvement
your stress levels should be minimised.
Stage 3- Managing the enquiry - Knowing just what
HMRC can and cannot do within it's statutory powers
enables me to protect your rights and interests in all
types of enquiries.
Even an open minded Inspector has to consider all the
possibilities. Put yourself in his/her position. What would
you be thinking if you found
(a) an amount of bank interest had been omitted from a
return or
(b) a sale hadn't gone through your books? or
(c) a personal expense had been claimed against profits.
All different possibilities might occur to the Inspector. This
can lead to drawn out enquiries and unwarranted invasions
of your privacy in an attempt to get to all the facts.
With early involvement in your enquiry and co-operation
from you I will be able to preempt such problems
and guide the enquiry to a satisfactory
conclusion.
Stage 4- Agreeing the outcome - Given that some
enquiries can be randomly selected ( but see ) it is not
unknown for HMRC to have a "Nil" result.
This would be our aim - A "Nil" result (assuming you
have been forthright in our discussions and you have not
been intentionally understating your income).
If however profits have been understated then you will be
asked to sign important documents at some stage in the
enquiry and I can ensure that you are properly advised
on their completion and relevance.
Otherwise having hopefully been involved from the outset
my negotiation and presentation skills should
enable us to get the best result possible within
the law
Stage 5- Preparing for Settlement - (A wee bit late for
me being involved for the first time to get the best value late
stage I am confident that from an appraisal of what has
gone before I should be able to save you my fee and
more otherwise I will tell you right up front.)
If it is agreed in Stage 4 that your income has been
understated I can address with you and give you the
benefit of my experience of the commercial realities
of settling with HMRC.
If the unpaid duties are large enough you will find yourself
being asked to pay not only the duties unpaid but interest
on those duties and a penalty which statutorily could be
as much as the duties again.
Since April 2010 the penalty can now be 200% of the
duties if the HMRC are of the opinion that you
intentionally evaded duties and wilfully tried to
conceal matters. You need a good advocate on your
side and I can help. I can also ensure that HMRC use
the correct penalty legislation and don't try to exceed
the correct amount in settlement.
It is the practice of HMRC to accept a mitigated penalty in
any offer you want to make. I can give you the benefit of
my knowledge from over 30 years of considering other
Inspectors figures and submitting cases for the Board of
HMRC's approval to get you the best deal possible.
Properly armed with such information and with strong
negotiating skills enables us to offer an acceptable
amount taking into account the factors of disclosure,
cooperation, size and gravity.
I can also offer a review service to you (or your
tax adviser) in the unfortunate situation that
things go wrong with your enquiry at any stage
before I am involved. This review can be
conducted for or with the adviser and I will
provide possible solutions for your benefit.
I am also prepared to consider and advise on
work carried out by other advisers. However I do
not want to prepare accounts or do annual
returns so that your adviser will have no fears
that I am going to steal his bread and butter.
Contact me on 07751720507 or Send a Message
you were getting ready for an enjoyable weekend away.
Why is it HMRC always plan the letter to arrive on a Friday?
If you have an accountant acting he/she will get details of
the information and/or documents they consider they need
and HMRC will put dictate a date for your response. The
letter can be from a local office or one of the specialist
offices or teams and it can be an enquiry into one or two
Aspects of your return or a Full blown enquiry into all
matters in your return(s).
Each type of enquiry needs it's own response and Bill can
handle these to your best advantage. Do not assume that
just any practitioner can successfully handle tax enquiry
cases as an enquiry started badly can create more
problems than it solves. Don't also believe you are getting
the best from the home. Each enquiry needs its own
strategy and all Bill will need from you is the truth and your
trust that he can minimise your bill to your best possible
advantage. Of course it has to be a legal way of minimising
your bill otherwise we both end up in trouble.
Stage 2- You respond - It is at this stage that Enquiries
and Investigations are either won or lost. How you handle it
sets the scene for the enquiry. Handle it wrong and you
could be in for a drawn out enquiry or worse an escalation
to formal powers being used.
If we can sit down and discuss matters we should be able to
see a way to
(a) giving HMRC the comfort they need to close the
enquiry
(b) managing the enquiry to resolve it to your best
advantage within the law
(c) casting an expert eye over your books and
records before HMRC's expert gets at them
You can rest assured that with Bill's involvement
your stress levels should be minimised.
Stage 3- Managing the enquiry - Knowing just what
HMRC can and cannot do within it's statutory powers
enables me to protect your rights and interests in all
types of enquiries.
Even an open minded Inspector has to consider all the
possibilities. Put yourself in his/her position. What would
you be thinking if you found
(a) an amount of bank interest had been omitted from a
return or
(b) a sale hadn't gone through your books? or
(c) a personal expense had been claimed against profits.
All different possibilities might occur to the Inspector. This
can lead to drawn out enquiries and unwarranted invasions
of your privacy in an attempt to get to all the facts.
With early involvement in your enquiry and co-operation
from you I will be able to preempt such problems
and guide the enquiry to a satisfactory
conclusion.
Stage 4- Agreeing the outcome - Given that some
enquiries can be randomly selected ( but see ) it is not
unknown for HMRC to have a "Nil" result.
This would be our aim - A "Nil" result (assuming you
have been forthright in our discussions and you have not
been intentionally understating your income).
If however profits have been understated then you will be
asked to sign important documents at some stage in the
enquiry and I can ensure that you are properly advised
on their completion and relevance.
Otherwise having hopefully been involved from the outset
my negotiation and presentation skills should
enable us to get the best result possible within
the law
Stage 5- Preparing for Settlement - (A wee bit late for
me being involved for the first time to get the best value late
stage I am confident that from an appraisal of what has
gone before I should be able to save you my fee and
more otherwise I will tell you right up front.)
If it is agreed in Stage 4 that your income has been
understated I can address with you and give you the
benefit of my experience of the commercial realities
of settling with HMRC.
If the unpaid duties are large enough you will find yourself
being asked to pay not only the duties unpaid but interest
on those duties and a penalty which statutorily could be
as much as the duties again.
Since April 2010 the penalty can now be 200% of the
duties if the HMRC are of the opinion that you
intentionally evaded duties and wilfully tried to
conceal matters. You need a good advocate on your
side and I can help. I can also ensure that HMRC use
the correct penalty legislation and don't try to exceed
the correct amount in settlement.
It is the practice of HMRC to accept a mitigated penalty in
any offer you want to make. I can give you the benefit of
my knowledge from over 30 years of considering other
Inspectors figures and submitting cases for the Board of
HMRC's approval to get you the best deal possible.
Properly armed with such information and with strong
negotiating skills enables us to offer an acceptable
amount taking into account the factors of disclosure,
cooperation, size and gravity.
I can also offer a review service to you (or your
tax adviser) in the unfortunate situation that
things go wrong with your enquiry at any stage
before I am involved. This review can be
conducted for or with the adviser and I will
provide possible solutions for your benefit.
I am also prepared to consider and advise on
work carried out by other advisers. However I do
not want to prepare accounts or do annual
returns so that your adviser will have no fears
that I am going to steal his bread and butter.
Contact me on 07751720507 or Send a Message
| Bill Stevenson |
| Mobile 07751720507 (anytime) Land line 01224 658962 (office hours) Email: bill@wamstaxltd.com |
| can Reduce the stress in your enquiry |
Every investigation or enquiry has its own dangers and opportunities that require full and detailed considerations
and advice. No responsibility can be taken for any actions that the reader decides to take (or not take) after
client/tax adviser basis.
WAMS Tax Ltd - Bill Stevenson - 07751720507
and advice. No responsibility can be taken for any actions that the reader decides to take (or not take) after
client/tax adviser basis.
WAMS Tax Ltd - Bill Stevenson - 07751720507
View our details in the FreeIndex Tax Investigation directory.