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A Blackpool nightclub owner and his accountant have been convicted for their involvement in a £4.9 million tax fraud.
Paul Kelly, who owned a string of bars and pubs across the North West, evaded paying millions in tax, with help from his crooked accountant John Parry.
Kelly submitted fraudulent VAT returns and deducted tax and National Insurance payments from employees’ salaries but failed to pay it to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Kelly, 63, splashed hundreds of thousands of pounds from the proceeds of his crimes on luxury items, including a yacht, expensive Bentley and Rolls Royce cars, a £100,000 watch and a £2,000 Versace dining service set.
Zoe Gascoyne, Deputy Director in HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service, said:
“Paul Kelly abused his position of trust to steal from clients and staff members, and John Parry assisted him in further stealing from the taxpayer.
“Tax fraud is never a victimless crime and the eye watering sums he spent on cars and jewellery should have been funding the public services we all rely on.
“I hope this result serves as a warning to the minority of corrupt professionals who wrongly believe they can use their knowledge to assist clients committing fraud.
“We can and will work with our law enforcement partners to bring you to justice and we encourage anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it online.”
The number of criminal investigations completed by HMRC has increased 11% to 386 from 347, says multinational law firm Pinsent Masons, in the year to September 2024.
The total length of prison sentences handed down for tax evasion and tax fraud have also increased – to 525 years in the past year, up from 503 years.
Steven Porter, Partner and Head of Tax disputes and Investigations at Pinsent Masons says that targeted criminal prosecutions of tax evaders is partly used by HMRC to act as a deterrent and to persuade tax evaders to use HMRC’s Contractual Disclosure Facility. This offers individuals immunity from criminal prosecution in return for a full disclosure of the tax evasion they have been involved with.
The maximum penalty for income tax evasion is a fourteen-year prison sentence and/or an unlimited fine. This had doubled from seven years in the Finance Act 2024.
https://ifamagazine.com/hmrc-ramps-up-successful-investigations-into-tax-evasion-in-the-last-year-pinsent-masons/
Government tax inspectors have slapped a businessman formerly connected to a number of Shropshire venues with a £1.15m fine.
HMRC has issued a penalty of £1,156,856.10 to Prism Payroll Limited and the company’s sole director, Shropshire businessman, Michael James Halford.
In a list published on November 28, the tax authority states the penalty is related to "transactions connected with VAT fraud".
A tax fugitive who was on the run for nearly three years, was finally caught when he ordered a kebab to his hideout.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers arrested Robert Kemp at a bedsit in Wales, after the hungry VAT fraudster stumped up £18 for a doner kebab.
Intelligence developed from the kebab order led officers to the 56-year-old who was staying less than half a mile from the takeaway in the seaside town of Rhyl.
The tax agency HMRC has nearly doubled the amount paid out to those making tip-offs, the highest figure of at least the past seven years.
According to Freedom of Information data obtained by accountancy firm Price Bailey, HMRC has paid out nearly £1m for tip-offs over 2023/24, 92 per cent higher than the £508,500 paid over 2022/23.
The number of HMRC investigations into serious tax fraud and avoidance has fallen to the lowest level in six years, new figures show.
Total investigations, known as Code of Practice eight and nine cases, fell from 1,091 in 2022-23 to 480 in 2023-24, according to the Financial Times.
Cop9 probes, which encompass the most serious tax cases such as the Hirst brothers and Bernie Ecclestone, fell from 669 in 2019-19 to 268 in 2023-24.
European Union finance ministers agreed on Tuesday on new rules for value-added tax (VAT) on digital transactions aimed at tackling fraud and boosting competitiveness.
"Today’s agreement makes life easier for taxpayers, tackles fraud and promotes fair competition," said EU Finance Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/eu-finance-ministers-agree-on-new-rules-to-tackle-vat-fraud/ar-AA1tyqeB
Research and Development (R&D) tax credits were first introduced for small and medium business enterprises in 2000 to encourage scientific and technological innovation within the United Kingdom.
On 30 October 2024, the Government published its highly anticipated Autumn Budget 2024 (the "Budget"). Among measures promised to "fix the foundations of the economy" is the Government's commitment to implement "the most ambitious ever package to close the tax gap," including by "taking stronger action on the most egregious tax fraud" and "enhancing HMRC's powers and sanctions against tax adviser facilitated non-compliance."
https://www.mondaq.com/uk/tax/1540194/hmrc-rd-fraud-arrests-a-new-era-for-tax-enforcement
A wealthy Cairngorm landowner was caught up in an alleged £800m money laundering and fraud scam that allegedly “cheated” investors out of their money, The Ferret can reveal.
Liechtenstein businessman Alexander Bryan Jeeves and his financial services firm, Jeeves Group, were listed among defendants in a series of US civil court cases spanning from 2007 to 2016.
Apair of Warwickshire brothers have been jailed for a £1 MILLION HMRC tax fraud where they pretended to make three films in the UK. Carl Rees and Craig Rees, aged 52 and 50, were found guilty of submitting fraudulent claims for Film Tax Relief and VAT to HMRC.
The jaw-dropping fraud totalled more than £1m and saw the pair claim the cash for films that were never made in the UK, or at all.HMRC proved in court that the pair had claimed their first film Whispers was made in the UK, when it was an American-made film, while their second film, The Eight, was entirely made up.
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