Tax has been in the political and commercial spotlight for over a decade. It has been and will continue to be interesting, not only because of Brexit but also the general political unrest. The unrest is not just within parties but within society, which means discontent that has to be turned into contentment. A stable and growing economy generally brings contentment through employment, future prospects and increased taxes with which to spend on social needs – education, health services and security. It appears the Government will have to support our economy with tax policies that incentivise growth.
The historic problem with tax incentives is that tax professionals have sought to develop ways to exploit them. For over a decade there has been a progressive move to combat tax avoidance and evasion. Policies and measures to combat avoidance and evasion have to continue. The quantum of information being exchanged from offshore jurisdictions and HMRC’s limited resources to manage enquiries, means avoidance and evasion will still make headlines for another decade. The way information is now collected and digitally processed by HMRC will also assist identify risks and inaccuracies possibly resulting in enquiries and more automated corrections to returns.
Incentivising growth whilst ensuring the taxpayers are compliant would appear to be a great recipe for our business as specialist tax consultants who defend suspected fraud cases.
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