The taxman shoots, the taxman scores..
It’s scary what HMRC knows about YOU
The taxman isn’t stupid. You insult his intelligence if you think putting a few numbers on your tax return gets the job done
HMRC has the ability and, likely, the inclination to dive deeper into your affairs than you ever thought possible. It has something you don’t, a supercomputer, and it even has a name: Connect
Seems Connect believes the best way to track down a fish, is become a fish, so it compares all the information you provide on your tax return, with its own data. It looks for discrepancies, then flags them. Those flags can put you in the frame for a tax investigation, and that’s never fun
Curiously, HMRC doesn’t tell us exactly how Connect operates, but we do know it’s getting cleverer, with the incorporation of AI
It’s method of operation is to gather information from any and every source and there are lots of them, including bank accounts, building societies, online payments, debit and credit cards, crypto, credit reference agencies, etc
Add to that list the Border Agency, Companies House, DWP, Land Registry, Electoral Roll, Council Tax, etc
Connect simply loves social media. It has access to all public your posts on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc as part of an ongoing investigation
It can check your trading activity on Ebay, Etsy, Gumtree, Vinted and all the others
HMRC is getting even more powers. From January 1st 2024, all platforms will be required to collect your trading data, and they have a legal obligation to report it to HMRC
That includes Airbnb, which may be a gamechanger for Buy-to-Let landlords
If you’re caught you’ll have to pay the tax due, and penalties. If you need help from our team of Chartered Tax Advisors, book your FREE hour here
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