HM Revenue & Customs are coming to get you. But only, it seems, if you work in certain businesses. If you happen to be a market stall holder in London, a taxi firm in the East Midlands, a fast food takeaway outlet in Scotland or a landlord in Yorkshire, you’d better watch out, because HMRC has announced that thirty taskforces have been set up to tackle tax evasion over the next couple of years. And this year twelve of them will be on the warpath, with the remit to collect more than £50m from you.
Richard Summersgill, HMRC’s director of local compliance, issued this stark warning:
“Only those who choose to break the rules, or deliberately evade the tax they should be paying, will be targeted. If you deliberately seek to evade tax HMRC can and will track you down, and you’ll face not only a heavy fine but possibly a criminal prosecution as well.”
They’re not limiting their investigations to get the finance of the super-rich either. The taxman will also be targeting more humble professions like plumbers, doctors and dentists. Neither will more obscure jobs be overlooked – music and language teachers, horse riding instructors and fitness coaches also need to be wary.
Meanwhile, all those tax avoiders out there, of whom there have been some headline-hitting examples across the years, can carry on employing the cleverest accountants in the country, with complete impunity. Unless of course it irreparably damages their show biz reputations.
