As nine UK businesses are investigated under revised tax evasion laws, tax specialists at a London law firm are encouraging others to take heed.
In addition to the nine, HMRC is probing a further 21 businesses for potential breaches of the new corporate criminal offence of failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion.
Heavyweight legal firm Pinsent Masons said that, regardless of size or sector, the figures should act as a wake-up call to all businesses.
The current investigations and cases cover UK businesses operating across ten different sectors including financial services, oil, construction, labour provision, and software development.
Head of tax fraud investigations at Pinsent Masons, Andrew Sackey, said: “This news should set alarm bells ringing for any businesses which have so far put dealing with the corporate criminal offences to the bottom of their compliance to-do list.
“All parts of the financial services sector are clear targets for HMRC’s activities; however infrastructure, haulage, labour service providers and construction businesses also look particularly vulnerable to investigations under these rules because of their reliance on supply chains and sub-contractor networks.”
Introduced in 2017, the new rules make it a criminal offence if a business fails to prevent its employees or agents from facilitating tax evasion. It is an offence regardless of whether or not the corporate boards are aware of the conduct undertaken by said employees or agents.
Sackey went on to say: “This is very different to the risks previously faced and businesses in all sectors need to be asking themselves serious questions about whether they are at risk.”
