Tax
Taxman to target Wimbledon |
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| Tax | |
| Written by Paul Williams | |
| Thursday, 18 June 2009 | |
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Big summer events are new target of HMRC.
With tax revenues falling, PKF Accountants & business advisers is warning that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is likely to take a closer interest than usual in individuals profiting from the big summer events like Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix and the many music festivals taking place across the UK. Matt Coward, Director of Private Client Tax Services at PKF said, “HMRC wants its share of the events economy. In past years, HMRC officers and trading standards teams have visited the area to check up on traders and residents making money from the tournament. With tax revenues falling, I would expect HMRC to make an extra effort this year to make sure that all profits from the Wimbledon fortnight are properly taxed.” HMRC has recently increased its information gathering powers and is known to work with the organisers of major events and third parties like letting agencies, to check up on traders and temporary landlords. HMRC investigators now operate in ‘cross-tax teams’ and with many other government enforcement agencies – often leading to combined visits to the premises of high risk businesses. The community of traders that provide catering and other services to large events is well known to HMRC. Those it sees as high risk are likely to face checks to ensure that all causal employees are taxed correctly on their earnings and that those traders do not breach the minimum wage regulations. Matt Coward added: “Not all events are likely to be as recession proof as Wimbledon. But anyone who is having a tough time and is tempted not to declare the income they receive, should be aware that HMRC’s new system of tax penalties took effect from April this year. If you cheat and you are caught out, it is now likely to cost you far more than it would have in past years. However, it will still cost less to make an ‘unprompted disclosure’ of any tax irregularities – so if you have failed to report income in the past, it is best to do so before HMRC catches up with you.”
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