Wakeup call for businesses

HMRC is conducting nine investigations into breaches under the corporate criminal offence rules and has 21 more opportunities lined up according to Pinsent Masons. These cover ten business sectors including financial services oil construction labour provision and software development. 

Jason Collins partner and head of tax at Pinsent Masons said: ‘HMRC worked hard to get these new criminal powers and is determined to use them. It is designed like the Bribery Act to stack the deck against corporates. The burden of proof is on the corporate to prove it did everything reasonable to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion. The company in question does not have to have derived a financial benefit from or even be aware of the tax evasion by customers to be prosecuted.’

Saying that asset managers and private banks were obvious targets Mr Collins said: ‘Reasonable prevention...