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Tax Enquiries and Investigations

“Income tax returns are the most
imaginative fiction being written today”
Herman Wouk

It is an unfortunate fact of business life that you may well come under enquiry by the HM Revenue and Customs through no fault of your own or of your accountant. HMRC now investigates businesses at random as well as for specific reasons. A full investigation is not a pleasant experience for anyone. Without expert defence it is possible to get trampled all over.

At Barnbrook Sinclair, we have had considerable experience, over many years, in dealing with HM Revenue and Customs Investigation and Enquiry cases, from the very routine to the most serious.

Many people are under the impression that, if the HMRC suspect a taxpayer of having under-declared his income, they (HMRC) have to prove that it has actually happened.  Unfortunately, this is not so - tax enquiries are almost always conducted under civil law, rather than criminal law.  The burden of proof rests with the taxpayer, who therefore has to provide the evidence to prove that under-declarations have not taken place.  If the taxpayer’s book-keeping has been poor, or he has not kept all of the records, convincing the taxman can be extremely difficult and is not a task for the inexperienced or faint-hearted!

“Enquiries” tend to fall into two categories:

Those where the taxpayer knows that he has under-declared his taxable income; and

those where the taxpayer believes that all of his income has been properly declared and that his affairs are correctly in order.

For the former, it is essential to ensure that the taxman collects only the amounts of tax that are due – the investigating inspectors will automatically assume that there have been under-declarations in all previous years.  We will establish a valid starting point, so that only the tax which is due is collected.

The second type of case can be extremely difficult and it requires both persistence and patience.  Taxpayers who know that they have done no wrong, but who are under investigation, find it an extremely stressful experience.

We know how HMRC works and what they require in order to settle an investigation – their inspectors may be very skilled at interrogating taxpayers, but we are very skilled at representing our clients and their best interests!

Fee Protection Insurance
We ask that all clients take out the Fee Protection Insurance cover. Our scheme provides for payment of the fees involved in representing you. These can be substantial, but having the cover means that we can provide the best possible representation for you..... without you worrying about the cost.

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