Capital Economy, Business and Finance
Last year, His Majesty's Revenue and Customs tried to enforce a £14m penalty against Paul Baxendale-Walker, a solicitor turned tax adviser who designed and promoted multiple tax avoidance schemes which are estimated to have cost the exchequer about £1 billion in lost taxes. But the tax collector missed its man. A recently published tribunal judgement reveals that, by granting the tax-averse former lawyer’s request for an extension, HMRC missed the statutory deadline for imposing a fine. The penalty was struck out. While unpaid carers receive steep fines and even face fraud charges for earning a penny over strict income limits, HMRC’s own “rudimentary” error has let an alleged fraudster off the hook. Which bodes ill for political parties promising big savings through closing tax loopholes, as they all are.
