Law for naming tax cheats goes live
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Issued 3rd March 2010
Taxpayers and companies who deliberately evade taxes face having their name,
address and details of their evasion made public after new legislation was put
into force today.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will be able to publish names and details of
individuals and companies who are caught dodging their taxes from 1 April 2010.
Stephen Timms, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said:
“It is only right that people pay their fair share of tax, which supports
vital public services. We know that law-abiding taxpayers will want to see the
results of HMRC’s investigations into tax cheats.
“This new approach should make people think again about trying to get away
with tax fraud. As well as having to pay the tax, interest on the tax, plus
penalties of up to 100 per cent of the tax lost, they also now risk being
identified publicly.
“We are only targeting deliberate tax evaders. So if you know that you have
not paid the right tax, and you want to avoid being named, contact HMRC right
away to set things straight.”
Notes
1. HM Treasury today appointed 1 April 2010 as the date on which s.94 of the
Finance Act 2009 will come into force. This section authorises HM Revenue &
Customs to publish the details of taxpayers where it is established that they
have committed certain serious tax offences.
2. It is planned that names will be published on HMRC’s website. Because this
measure will only be applied for periods starting from 1 April 2010, it is not
expected that any names will be published before the first half of 2011.
3. Taxpayers who may be named are those who have deliberately evaded tax of
more than £25,000 in total.
4. If taxpayers make a full disclosure of any tax wrongs without delay they
can avoid having their name and details published.
5. Taxpayers who wish to come clean should approach their tax office.
NAT 16/10
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© Crown Copyright 2010.
A licence is needed to reproduce this article and has been republished for
educational / informational purposes only. Article reproduced by permission of
HM Revenue & Customs under the terms of a Click-Use Licence. Tax briefs are
updated regularly and may be out of date at time of reading.
