The last year has been challenging for many businesses and individuals. The Government has introduced many support mechanisms to help companies through the pandemic, which have often been hastily prepared and regularly changed. 
As a result of this, there are growing concerns that HM Revenue & Customs may seek to come down tougher on those who have abused the COVID support mechanisms and those who have made accidental errors in their tax reporting.
Of course, this is nothing new, HMRC has been ramping up its tax investigation activity for some time and we anticipate that it may use the current crisis as a means to conduct further enquiries. 
Here are some key facts for you to consider:

• The tax yield from individuals continues to increase year on year.
• HMRC saw an 80 per cent increase in tax receipts from high-net-worth individuals last year.
• HMRC obtained an additional £200+ million from small businesses in the last tax year through investigations.

HMRC is employing sophisticated software and is working with more organisations than ever before to uncover tax that it believes is due. It is worth considering that:

• You can be randomly selected for an enquiry.
• Accountancy fees can easily be as high as £10,000 or more.
• Investigations can drag on for months or years, creating a lot of undue stress and costs if you do not have professional representation.

It is because of this surge in HMRC activity that you should consider what would happen to you or your business, should you be subjected to a tax enquiry. 
To reduce the stress, strain and worry associated with a tax investigation it makes sense to take out tax investigation protection via our services. 
We are insured in respect of fees up to £100,000 incurred in representing you in the event of any compliance check, visit or investigation started by HMRC regarding compliance with:

• Corporation tax self-assessment
• National insurance
• VAT
• Income tax self-assessment
• Construction Industry Scheme
• National minimum wage
• PAYE and P11D
• IR35
• Gift aid legislation and regulations
• Capital gains tax
• Inheritance tax
• Stamp duty (including land tax)

This service does not cover:

• Fraud
• Deliberate omissions
• Tax avoidance schemes
• Criminal prosecutions
• Tax, fines, penalties and interest due
• Enquiries commencing outside of the period of service

We hope you never need our advice in this area, but if you do, our tax investigation service will cover the defence costs.
Unfortunately, while we cannot stop HMRC from launching an enquiry at random, we can ensure that you start any investigation on an even footing with the tax authority if you subscribe to this service. 
If you haven’t already subscribed for this service, then we highly recommend speaking to a member of our team for advice. To find out more, please contact us.