HM Revenue & Customs has spent years and £100m or more on a super computer designed to identify those who may have paid too little tax. And now – with the deadline for filing 2015-2016 tax returns just weeks away – the system is being fully deployed for the first time.
Instead of relying solely on information provided by
taxpayers via their returns, HMRC’s powerful ‘Connect’ System now draws on
information from myriad government and corporate sources to create a profile of
each taxpayer’s total income. Where this varies from the information provided
by the taxpayer, the account is flagged and could be subject to further
investigation.
For the first time HMRC is also using these powers to warn
individuals to check that they have not underpaid. We leave a huge and diverse
electronic footprint online. This gives HMRC the facility to dig deep into out
private lives; what we earn and importantly what we spend.
What HMRC can find
out about you
Visa and Mastercard
transactions: Anonymised information on all payments
Land Registry Records:
To determine properties purchased and stamp duty paid.
DVLA: Details of
cars purchased and owned by individuals
UK and overseas bank
accounts: From this year it receives information from banks in more than 60
countries.
Internal tax
documents: Systems show council tax
paid, relevant VAT rehistration, previous tax investigations, last year’s tax
return (or absence of one)
Earnings: From any
employer, including those you have worked for causally or on an ad-hoc basis. This
includes any company benefits received, it can also access child benefit and maintenance
payments through the child support agency.
Online marketplace: Websites
such as eBay and Gumtree can be accessed to weed out regular traders.
Social Media: The
connect system can also look at public social media account information,
including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Web browsing and email
records: Under the ‘Snoopers Charter’ HMRC will be able to access individual’s
digital information.
We at Stephens
accountants can advise clients on what to consider when deciding issues to
declare to HMRC. We can assess, based on declared statements, what aspects of
clients income and expenditure, both personal and business, HMRC may question.
Let us support you in
avoiding the dreaded tax enquiry.
Stephens Accountants
Southgate Business Centre,
32 Gillygate,
Pontefract.
WF8 1PQ
Telephone: 01977 791757
FAX: 01977 795366
