As we approach the end of yet another tax year it is worth reflecting on the role of HMRC in our tax affairs.
Without a doubt, HMRC, tax legislation and its application, will continue to ensure that you pay your taxes. You can rely on HMRC to pounce if they feel that you have underpaid tax. Unfortunately, they may not be so active if there are allowances and reliefs that you could claim to reduce your expose to tax.
The UK tax code, the wealth of legislation that dictates our liability to tax, is amongst the most complex in the global community. Accordingly, tax payers will rarely understand or appreciate the extent to which their activities are creating liability to tax. Unfortunately, in most cases ignorance of the law is no excuse for not complying with the law.
Without reaching a detailed and informed opinion about any significant change in our personal circumstances: our investments, pensions arrangement, business or employment situation, we run the risk that at some stage we will receive the dreaded “brown-envelope” from HMRC.
Very often it is too late to counter these after-the-fact challenges – the planning required to minimise exposure to tax has to be done before the event, before you make the changes.
Our commitment is to ensure that our clients pay just as much tax as is required by legislation, and not a penny more. We are also committed to ensuring that our services are cost effective; that the value or monetary savings we achieve exceed the investment in our time.
Please remember, if you are about to make any change in your personal or business circumstances and you are unsure if the change will impact your tax position, pick up the phone.