The latest in a line of tax evasion cases has seen an IT consultant jailed for 5 years for failing to declare almost £2 million of income. Stephen Maxwell, who worked as an IT consultant for City of London banks, failed to pay £635,015 of tax on income received during 1999 and 2008.
Mr Maxwell, from Dumfries and Galloway, was the subject of a HMRC business records investigation into his limited company Gateway 3000 Ltd. The investigation found that Mr Maxwell’s consultancies fees, of up to £800 a day, were paid into numerous companies before being channelled through to Gateway 3000 Ltd.
Following a six week trial, Mr Maxwell was found guilty by jurors in little over an hour. HMRC’s assistant director of criminal investigation in Scotland, David Odd, commented on the case; “This was a case of deliberate and systematic fraud. The tax system depends on people being honest but Maxwell consistently tried to conceal his income.”
“Income tax fraud is not a victimless crime and HMRC take a very serious view of anyone who acts in this manner. We have robust procedures to identify abuse of our tax systems and are committed to pursuing any such fraud vigorously.”
With tax evasion high on HMRC’s agenda, after the latest taskforces were announced to target SME’s last week, contractors are advised to ensure that their records are in check and that they do not fall foul of any tax obligations.
ICS work with a team of experts in employment and tax law to ensure our services are fully compliant with existing IR35 legislation and the latest government regulations, such as the AWR. You can contact us now for a tailored proposal based on your individual circumstances as a contractor.
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