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The Finance Bill 2025-26’s proposals won’t be effective at tackling tax evasion, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg.
Robert Salter, a Director at the firm, said, “The recently published Finance Bill 2025-26 contains a number of proposals to target tax evasion. But in practice, these measures may prove to be ineffective.
“The Government is proposing various policies to crack down on ‘rogue tax advisors’, but I suspect many of the worst offenders who promote dodgy tax schemes are based overseas. A UK legislation only approach will not be enough to reach them or bring them to trial in this country.
“To target these individuals and firms effectively, HMRC and overseas tax authorities will need to develop joined up systems for effectively punishing rogue advisors.
“These systems could be built on the goodwill and cooperation forged in recent trade deals the UK has made with countries such as China and Germany and could build upon the arrangements which already exist for international data sharing between authorities.”
He added, “An increase in daily penalties, above the automatic penalties which already arise on certain taxpayers who have not filed a return when they should, has been proposed
“While these additional penalties would only be imposed with the agreement of the courts, the taxpayers who will be impacted by this are likely already facing significant fines and pressure from HMRC for missed tax return filings.
“The evidence already indicates that many of these taxpayers with outstanding tax returns are vulnerable individuals, without any financial representative, and it appears that their missed returns may not have even resulted in a loss of tax for the Revenue.
“Additional penalties may compound what is a social issue, not a tax compliance issue. Hopefully the combination of HMRC processes and court oversight should offer a safety net for any vulnerable taxpayers.”
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