New criminal investigations stem from tax amnesty

Date: 13th June 2011

Small business owners and contractors working across the country could be encouraged to seek the assistance of a specialist tax accountancy service following recent comment from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

The department has announced that after its two recent tax amnesties, 16 new criminal investigations have been launched.

This could prompt a number of enterprises to ensure that bookkeeping is up to date and their tax affairs are in order.

As a result of HMRC's Tax Health Pan, which yielded £10 million from 1,500 voluntary disclosures, six criminal investigations have been opened and another 500 enquiries are being looked into.

Another ten investigations have been launched on the back of the Offshore Disclosure Facility and New Disclosure Opportunity, which produced £485 million from more than 50,000 voluntary disclosures.

It comes as HMRC prepares to publish an online register, designed to name and shame the UK's tax evaders.

Posted by Emily Smith