CIOT: Surpise at low disclosures under HMRC Health Plan
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has expressed surprise – and concern – at the statistics released today by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about the outcome of their ‘Tax Health Plan’ initiative.
Only some 1,500 medical professionals are understood to have made disclosures under the arrangement.
The Tax Health Plan (THP) is the most recent stage in HMRC’s efforts to encourage taxpayers with undeclared tax liabilities to come forward and get their affairs in order, the incentive being the offer of relatively modest penalties.
All of these initiatives have been backed by information that HMRC have obtained from their wider compliance activities and which give HMRC targets to pursue if people do not come forward. Gary Ashford, chairman of the CIOT’s Management of Taxes committee, said:
“We understand that HMRC’s data suggested there were some 30,000 medical professionals who might have undisclosed tax liabilities. If only 1,500 have come forward, that is a considerable surprise and suggests that either many professionals are not taking this seriously – or of course that HMRC have failed to get their message across properly.
“We have been told that HMRC will start using the full powers available to them for non-compliance in this area from 1 August. Any medical professional with undisclosed tax liabilities really should take advantage of this brief window to take advice and start getting their affairs in order. It’s clear to us that HMRC are intending to come down hard on defaulters.”
Notes to Editors
1. The Tax Health Plan follows the Offshore Disclosure Initiative and the New Disclosure Opportunity (both targeting undisclosed offshore bank interest in particular) and the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (which followed an agreement signed with Liechtenstein).
2. The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) is a charity and the leading professional body in the United Kingdom concerned solely with taxation. The CIOT’s primary purpose is to promote education and study of the administration and practice of taxation. One of the key aims is to achieve a better, more efficient, tax system for all affected by it – taxpayers, advisers and the authorities.
The CIOT’s comments and recommendations on tax issues are made solely in order to achieve its primary purpose: it is politically neutral in its work. The CIOT will seek to draw on its members’ experience in private practice, government, commerce and industry and academia to argue and explain how public policy objectives (to the extent that these are clearly stated or can be discerned) can most effectively be achieved.
The CIOT’s 15,000 members have the practising title of ‘Chartered Tax Adviser’.
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George Crozier
External Relations Manager
D: +44 (0)20 7340 0569
M: +44 (0)7740 477374
The Chartered Institute of Taxation
Registered charity number 1037771
www.tax.org.uk
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