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The taskforce will target those who have sold one or more properties and haven’t paid Capital Gains Tax or disclosed rental income.
Using intelligence from the Valuation Office Agency to track down the tax cheats, the taskforce is expected to recover £5 million.
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HMRC’s Jennie Granger, Director General of Enforcement and Compliance, said: “HMRC taskforces are deployed in sectors and areas where we've detected a high risk of tax evasion. For example, in a previous property taskforce in London in 2013 we uncovered a barrister who had evaded £471,512 in unreturned capital gains.
“The people being targeted by our taskforces have no intention of playing by the rules and could end up facing a heavy fine or even a criminal conviction.
“A Hertfordshire property consultant who failed to declare or pay Capital Gains Tax and rental income on a number of properties was uncovered by an HMRC taskforce in 2013 and, as well as paying the tax and interest due, now has a criminal record.
“If you haven’t declared all your income, we will find you and investigate.”
Taskforces
Taskforces bring together various HMRC compliance and enforcement teams for intensive bursts of activity targeted at specific sectors and locations where there is evidence of high risk of tax evasion and fraud. The teams visit traders to examine their records and carry out other investigations.
HMRC has launched 70 taskforces since 2011. A further 30 are planned for 2014-15. The usually operate via a 'carrot and stick' approach, offering possible tax evaders an opportunity to volunteer and 'come clean' by a certain date with the prospect of easier terms, followed with the threat of more draconian penalities if HMRC comes after them.
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Susie Hughes © Shout99 2014
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