Inland revenue (IR) interest in stoozing?

smartsaver

No money in off shore accounts! Most was in cahoot 5.65 (at the time) some was in ING and some in the Abbey. Nothing too dodgy about that I hope...

ctm_2

Isasmurf's post got me thinking.

It could be that they just want confirmation of where the money came from, and how you have access to large amounts. The statements, or even you just explaining stoozing would therefore explain to them the source of the large sums of money, and the reasons behind them and moving them about etc.

Bordera

smartsaver wrote:

Hi and thanks no BIG alarm bells ringing yet :eek:. Yes at the bottom it says 'S9A opening letter' _pale_ Is this important?

And could we just ring the number given and ask why they want our credit card statements?

By all means phone, but they may not give you an answer. Try not to be pressured into sending the statements whilst on the phone.

I would be interested to hear what they say if you do not mind letting us know?

Isasmurf you could have hit the nail on the head.

smartsaver

Just read this in The Times money _pale_ and hoping this is not the case...

http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2006/01/tax_terror_a_tr.html

Bordera

smartsaver wrote:

Just read this in The Times money _pale_ and hoping this is not the case...

http://timesbusiness.typepad.com/money_weblog/2006/01/tax_terror_a_tr.html

This sort of mistake does not usually lead to an enquiry, the Inspector would just write and tell you how much you owe.

smartsaver

Mr SS called IR today and was told they can ask for whatever they like. The person asigned to his case is off today but will cal him back tomorrow.

What do you think??

Thank for all ur help

Bordera

smartsaver wrote:

Mr SS called IR today and was told they can ask for whatever they like. The person asigned to his case is off today but will cal him back tomorrow.

What do you think??

Thank for all ur help

Well, I suppose we can all "ask" for whatever we like . The next question is "what is Mr SS obliged to give them?" Not credit card statements in my opinion or that of a number of tax specialists I have spoken to. Certainly not at this early stage.



SS I really do not think they have a right to see your those statements unless they can clearly indicate that they have reason to believe Mr SS has completed his tax return inaccurately and the credit card statements have a bearing on this.



I think this is a "fishing expedition". HMRC's own published manual's say the following regarding requests for information.

EM2611 - Information Powers: TMA70/S20: Definitions: Documents

You must, however, be able to show that the documents required are relevant to the taxpayer's own liability and care and discretion must be exercised in using the powers to obtain records. An assurance has been given in Parliament that the powers will not be used for `fishing expeditions'. Moreover, quite apart from the express statutory restrictions, a notice may be held invalid if its requirements are unreasonably burdensome. For this reason, careful thought must be given to the scope of any descriptions used in the notice.

If you have difficulty in formulating a suitable description of the documents to be required, seek advice (The text at this point has been withheld under the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information).

This actually applies to investigations carried out under a different and more serious bit of the legislation than the one covering yours.

Something about this is bringing out the cynic in me. Certain criteria being matched; an unrepresented taxpayer. Has anyone else out there been asked to provide credit card statements to HMRC?

Thank you for taking the time to update us SS, it is appreciated

schiff

To me this just reinforces the suggestion that you MUST engage the services of an accountant.

Cook_County

To my mind there is some good news here, from what we have been told there is nothing for HMRC to find in this case so no tax seems to be in point.

HMRC have obtained credit card records from an un-named large bank recently. They have substantial access to information and good data mining software.

However, the information they get may be wrong. A section 9A enquiry is not a fraud or serious investigation. Therefore they tend to be worked by fairly junior or trainee inspectors.

Credit card records may be relevant for the self-employed or those who buy and sell in cash based trades. They are very relevant for those with money held offshore in the Channel Islands and such places.

They are unlikely to be of relevance here.

I would answer the first part of the letter but say that credit card bills can be supplied if HMRC can be specific as to which month or statement they are looking for. These things are subject to the rules of evidence. They can't fix you up or they will lose in Court.

PokerPortal

Cook_County wrote:

To my mind there is some good news here, from what we have been told there is nothing for HMRC to find in this case so no tax seems to be in point.

From what we have been told it seems to me that the OP is not sure if higher rate tax was paid (hence the link to the article) and that no interest was declared on savings. Although the stooze money was transferred to the basic rate taxpayer's account, it was sat in the higher rate taxpayer's for a while. Since the OP has been stoozing for a few years with a large stooze pot, the interest accrued can easily be in excess of £1000. HMRC will be interested in that.