HMRC Tax Investigations

We know that tax investigations can be more than just a nuisance. They can be stressful and intimidating, especially when the tax inspector does not seem to be listening to your point of view. Not too many people feel comfortable dealing with formal enquiries from the tax office. Even people who know they are innocent of any wrongdoing can feel threatened. A key part of our role is to reduce and hopefully eliminate the stress of an investigation.

We have been handling HMRC investigations for clients for many years. We do see cases in which inspectors are over-enthusiastic in pursuit of additional duties. Increasingly we have to challenge aggressive arguments – not always; plenty of inspectors are reasonable and if there is a problem that needs to be dealt with we will say so and deal with it. We will not act for people who wish to mislead HMRC or conceal things that should be disclosed. When tax is properly due we will assist in negotiating the swiftest and most economical settlement possible. When it isn’t we will robustly defend our clients’ legitimate positions. In some cases we have successfully claimed compensation for errors by HMRC.

HMRC enquiries and investigations come in many forms. They can range from routine tax return checks that don’t seem to go away, to technical disputes over the legislation, enquiries into what HMRC perceives to be “tax avoidance”, or at the most serious level, the civil investigation of tax fraud and criminal prosecutions. In each case it pays to have the support of experienced specialists.