by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Nov 17, 2024 | Blog, News
Following the UK HMRC consultation that closed in May 2024, it’s been announced all UK tax advisers will have to register with HMRC. The consultation follows previous interaction with interested stakeholders as far back as 2018.
79% of the 426 written responses to the 2024 consultation agreed that the UK government should mandate registration for tax practitioners who wish to interact with HMRC.
Respondents had suggested that there was a:
- perceived lack of consistent consequences for engaging in unethical practices and
- proposed that a minimum level of qualification or experience should be introduced.
A few respondents also recommended providing statutory protection of titles such as ‘accountant’ and ‘tax practitioner’.
From 1 April 2026, all tax advisers (regardless of professional body affiliation) dealing with HMRC will be required to register under new Government rules aimed at reducing unethical practices. HMRC will apply checks to all tax practitioners who register. Further details will be announced later.
The process is part of a broader effort to
- regulate the tax advice industry and
- eliminate rogue practitioners offering substandard services.
There have been widespread concerns that unaffiliated tax advisers, currently unregulated, pose risks to clients and the tax system.
There are an estimated 85,000 tax advice firms (including accountants, bookkeepers, tax advisers/consultants, payroll professionals) in the UK (which HMRC say may be a small underestimate), of which roughly one-third are not members of professional bodies.
For more on engagement and representation letter templates and a variety of CPD webinars on money laundering and other accounting/audit related topics, please go to our website for:
ISQM TOOLKIT, or if you prefer to chat through the different audit risks and potential appropriate responses presented by this new standard. We typically tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. Please contact John McCarthy FCA by email at john@jmcc.ie.
by John McCarthy Consulting Ltd. | Jan 9, 2024 | Blog, News
The UK HMRC has issued a stop notice against a Northern Ireland company under the Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes (POTAS) regime.
Under the POTAS regime HMRC has the power to publish information about promoters of tax avoidance schemes that are subject to a stop notice, alerting individuals to avoid signing up to illegal payment schemes.
The Northern Ireland entity is called Target Umbrella Limited (TUL), 6 Margaret Street, Newry, Northern Ireland, BT34 1DF. The notice states that TUL is a promoter of this scheme along with a Maltese company called Integra Resourcing Limited (IRL), Block 12 Office M1 Suite 106, Tigne Place, Tigne Street, Sliema, Malta, SLM 7173.
TUL had 31 employees according to its latest available abridged financial statements to the year ended 29 November 2022 and 131 in the prior year.
The HMRC say that users of the TUL/IRL scheme sign separate employment contracts with (IRL) and TUL. Users also sign an ‘Overarching Agreement’ with IRL to provide ‘loans’ to the user.
TUL sign a contract for services with the agency or the end client to provide the services of the user. TUL then invoices the end client for the work undertaken by the user. TUL pay users a salary in line with the National Minimum Wage Act for time worked and pays the remaining amount to IRL. IRL then pays the user a second nominal salary, per payroll run, usually below £10, and a larger amount, described as a ‘loan’. The ‘loan’ amount is not taxed.
Stop notices are one of the ways in which HMRC tackle tax avoidance and those responsible for promoting it. The notice’s legal impact is:
- the promoter who receives the notice must stop selling the specified scheme;
- the promoter who receives the notice must also pass a copy of it to certain associated persons, who are also subject to the stop notice and must also stop selling the specified scheme;
- all those persons subject to the notice must inform HMRC of all the people to whom they have promoted the scheme and the names of those to whom they continue to promote it;
- the persons subject to the stop notice must inform all clients and intermediaries that they are subject to a stop notice, what this means, and provide them with a copy of the stop notice.
Where a promoter fails to comply with a stop notice they can face penalties of up to £100,000 which can increase to up to £1 million in certain circumstances.
Anyone affected should contact HMRC as soon as possible. There is more information about how to do this here.
Please also go to our website www.jmcc.ie/training to see our latest
- Latest updated AML for Accountants webinar (December 2023) It explains the current legal AML reporting position for accountancy firms and includes a quiz. Upon completion, you receive a CPD Certificate of attendance in your inbox. A 20% discount is available for orders of five or more webinars/products, if bought together.
- Anti-Money Laundering Policies Controls & Procedures Manual (March 2022) – View the Table of Contents click here.
- letters of engagement and similar templates. Please visit our site here where immediate downloads are available in Word format. A bulk discount is available for orders of five or more items if bought together.
- ISQM TOOLKIT – We can also tailor ISQM training and brainstorming sessions to suit your firm’s unique requirements. The ISQM TOOLKIT 2022 is available to purchase here.
