There are still a number of individuals and companies out there that think the Inland Revenue won’t pursue them to the ends of the earth regarding tax debts – you need to wake up, seriously!

HMRC compliance visits and tax investigations take on real significance when you focus on HMRC’s mission to maximise tax take, as such its stated litigation settlement strategy (LSS) aims to push for a full settlement or court action if it believes it has a better than 50/50 chance of winning.

Now the issue is always the fact that HMRC have deep pockets when it comes to arguements, you only have to look at some of the employment status cases that have taken 3/5 years to conclude but the cost in terms of money, time and effort expended by HMRC (and delayed cash flow for the government’s coffers – this is most likely the issue) in pursuing these disputes is mounting.

Therefore some in HMRC are considering using a more “common sense” approach – can it be possible?

A new unit would split the dispute resolution unit from the anti avoidance division. The mission of the new unit would be to resolve the disputes more quickly; thus improving cash flow, even if the speedier resolution means a lower tax bill – I can’t see that being popular within HMRC, can you? So stick with the principle of getting things as correct as possible in the first place and if you’re not sure give us a call on 0800 917 9176 as a PAYE/NIC healthcheck could save your company, in more ways than one!