Watt Busfield Tax Investigations LLP

Good to see my quote in the Best of FT Money 2017. HMRC are getting better and catching tax evaders and avoiders. If you need to make a disclosure to HMRC or are under enquiry feel free to get in touch wattbusfield.co.uk twitter.com/Richardgab/sta…

#Farage has described the £5m gift from an overseas businessman as a "reward", so is it taxable? There are a number of ways that #HMRC could tax this, but it is probably not taxable based on a number of assumptions @DanNeidle #taxman #tax #uk #politics #GB taxpolicy.org.uk/2026/05/20/far…

Four #WestLothian #tax fraudsters who stole £8.8 million of #VAT using a network of companies jailed for 22 years. The companies charged VAT to clients for #payroll services but over a 21-month period between 2015 and 2017 they failed to hand over the tax to #HMRC. Instead, the money was redistributed to the fraudsters from various bank accounts, as well as to associates and family members for lavish holidays. #taxman #UK #Scotland @EdinburghLive_

#HMRC taxed us on £2,700 of #savings interest we didn’t even get to keep. A #taxpayer withdrew money early from a #NatWest fixed-term savings account. NatWest applied an early closure charge of 90 days interest and there's no tax deduction to individuals for bank charges. #UK #taxman #banks #bankaccount #selfassessment @thetimes

Lack of #finance #audit trail with ‘black box #AI’. ‘Finance teams have always operated on the principle that if you cannot trace it, you cannot trust it. That has not changed, What has changed is that the #technology can now either reinforce that discipline or erode it, and which one happens comes down to how it is built and what your provider is willing to be held accountable for.’ #uk #artificialintelligence #tax #investigations #HMRC #taxman accountancydaily.co/lack-finance-a… via @accountancylive

A court has jailed a couple for 3 y and 9 months. one of them worked in #HR and stole the personal data of #TransportforLondon (#TfL) #employees and submitted 139 fraudulent #tax rebate claims totalling £650,000. Following the trial, HMRC declined to clarify whether any additional checks and balances have been put in place to prevent future tax rebate fraud using taxpayers’ personal tax accounts, which are generally accessed via the HMRC app. An HMRC spokesperson said: ‘This should act as a warning to others that we can and do act against anyone who try to undermine the tax system and steal money that funds public services.’ #HMRC #fraud #CPS #jail #taxman #London #employee #data #uk @hrmagazine @accountancylive

Preparing for #probate: documents #executors need. Will also help executors if an #HMRC investigation is started. #tax #uk #IHT #inheritancetax #estate #taxman accountancydaily.co/preparing-prob… via @accountancylive

A total of 7,622 tip-offs about bosses failing to pay #workers the national #minimumwage were made to #HMRC last year-That's up 360% since 2020/21. HMRC launched 1,137 investigations+ issued 335 penalties. "HMRC... can publicly name and shame #employers". #uk #taxman #whistleblower #payroll #staff #employees @SkyNews

#Umbrella #company Hartley White Ltd was hit with a winding up petition on 2 March 2026 after racking up a £742,711 #HMRC #tax bill. They owed £477 in #PAYE and national insurance contributions #NIC, and £265k in #VAT and a £45k #director’s loan. #taxman #insolvency #UK @accountancylive

1.3m taxpayers paid £137m in late payment interest 1.3m #taxpayers paid £137m in late payment #interest on unpaid #tax as #HMRC adds 4% on to Bank of England base rate. Current rate is 7.75%. #taxman #selfassessment #UK #InterestRates #BankofEngland #BOE @accountancylive

#EU officials carried out raids in 9 countries re cross border luxury car #VAT #MTIC #fraud. #tax #Bulgaria #Poland #Hungary #Germany bgnes.com/european-union…

#Essex family jailed for ‘systematic and repeated’ £150k #covid19 #fraud using money for #privateschool fees, cars and house renovations. All the while, Rashid was also fraudulently claiming universal credit payments to further supplement his deceitful income.’ #bouncebackloan accountancydaily.co/essex-family-j… via @accountancylive

In a recent tax avoidance case the judge accepted that the #taxpayer had neither actual nor blind-eye knowledge that their returns were inaccurate. They argued that the test for a deliberate inaccuracy is subjective - a blind-eye knowledge “demands a specific and firmly grounded suspicion coupled with a deliberate decision not to investigate because of concern about what would be discovered”. The taxpayer had relied on professional advice throughout, referred to #counsel’s opinion and their #taxreturns had been prepared by #accountants. #HMRC #selfassessment #taxman #uk #taxavoidance #CFDs #tax Anthony Outram & Ross Outram v HMRC [2026] UKFTT 248 (TC) | Pump Court Tax Chambers

An #employment #tribunal concerning #forensic #medical experts working for the Metropolitan #Police showed that regulatory compliance does not equate to employment-type "control". The control existed to manage risk, not to supervise performance. The controls were operational safeguards and this could impact #tax cases. #contractors #employers #employees #HMRC #uk #London #taxman #selfemployed #PAYE accountingweb.co.uk/tax/hmrc-polic…

#HMRC helplines closed over the weekend on self assessment deadline day. Webchat services should still be available. #tax #taxman #selfassessment #UK

#Stampduty and storage units. In one of the most surprising tribunal decisions of 2025, the Judge allowed an appeal against #HMRC’s decision to reject a £1.7m #SDLT reclaim. A storage unit lease (which was < 2m x 2m x 4m) made an £18m flat purchase “mixed-use". However advisers urge caution in applying this legislation because it may have limited application and may be appealed by HMRC. #London #property #uk #taxman communities.lawsociety.org.uk/stamp-duty-and…

#HMRC’s #WealthyTeam are sending out letters to #taxpayers who made #InvestorsRelief claims in their 2024/25 #taxreturns. It is important to check they meet the qualifying conditions and to provide a #CGT computation to provide sufficient information to HMRC to confirm the claim is valid, otherwise HMRC may amend the return to remove the claim or open a #compliancecheck. #tax #taxman #selfassessment #CIOT #UK #capitalgains #trading #company

@ICAEW has expressed serious concerns with the package of measures in the Finance Bill 2025-26 affecting #tax agents and has called for significant changes to be made. #ICAEW has warned that the measures are too widely drafted and could increase the cost + complexity of giving #taxadvice. - #HMRC may refuse/ suspend a tax advisers registration where there are concerns about the firm’s conduct; - extension to the tax agent dishonest conduct regime by lowering the threshold for sanctions to “doing something with the intention of bringing about a loss of tax revenue”; - introduces a new strict liability criminal offence for promoting arrangements that have no reasonable prospect of success. #uk #taxman #selfassessment #taxadviser #compliance icaew.com/insights/tax-n…

#Germany's highest civil court largely sided with #Wirecard's #insolvency administrator, finding that the former #auditors of the payments company, Ernst & Young, must disclose #audit files from the 4 financial years running up to its collapse. the administrator is seeking 1.5 billion euros in damages due to systematic failure.