Anglo-Swiss tax treaty signing is imminent
Contractors who have not chosen to invoice through a reputable umbrella company may need to know that the long-awaited tax treaty between the UK and Switzerland should be signed at the end of this month.
offshore
HMRC increases its efforts to curb international tax evasion
HMRC is continuing its quest to catch umbrella company contractors with undeclared earnings in offshore savings accounts and this could spell bad news for hundreds of thousands of British residents.
Countdown to stronger fines make it a good time to find a reputable umbrella company
Contractors might be interested to learn that HMRC is going to impose penalties of up to 200% on individuals found guilty of tax and capital gains evasion.
Arrests made in HMRC’s clampdown on offshore bank accounts
Last December, two British citizens were arrested on suspicion of hiding money in Swiss bank accounts to evade paying UK taxes.
Overseas tax havens may not be as safe as tax evaders hope
Umbrella company contractors and other freelance workers have been warned to be cautious of schemes that claim to be HMRC approved, when really they are referring to the reference number allocated to a scheme.
Are we going to see an HMRC tax amnesty for contractors?
How is the Revenue going to survive the spending cuts? Some advisers have suggested that it might roll out more amnesties in the hope of increasing cost efficiency.
Will HMRC clampdown affect umbrella companies?
A fivefold increase in prosecutions against tax evaders could see HMRC bringing 800 people a year to court. In the year to September 30 2009, the Revenue brought 157 prosecutions against individuals.
HMRC questions offshore account holders
Last week HMRC sent out letters to some of the taxpayers who had taken up the Offshore Disclosure Facility to ask them for their insights.
IT opportunities abound in APAC
Engineers, IT specialists and other technical professionals who are struggling to find work in the UK may want to consider working in the Asia Pacific region.
Tax penalty danger to freelancers and contractors
Offshore tax evaders could face penalties of up to 200% after a consultation which was launched in the 2009 Pre-Budget Report.