Major changes to the UK taxation of so-called non-domiciliaries (non-doms) were introduced from April 2008.   Many UK tax resident non-domiciled taxpayers want to know if they should pay tax on the arising basis (facing a UK tax bill on their worldwide income as it arises) or pay the £30,000 Remittance Basis Charge (RBC) and only be taxed on foreign income they bring into the UK in the year.
This is an extremely complex area.  If you are  UK tax resident  but non-domiciled  paying the RBC may be worthwhile if the following conditions apply to you:

• You have more than £2,000 of unremitted offshore income or gains;
• You have been UK tax resident for 7 of the preceding 9 years;
• You have offshore income of over £75,000 or offshore capital gains over £175,000 (which have not been remitted to the UK).  [Figures based on current rates of tax for 2009/10].

If the above conditions relate to you, or you are the beneficiary of an offshore trust, a shareholder of an offshore company, are UK domiciled but ‘not ordinarily resident’ in the UK, or are unsure whether to pay the RBC then you need specialist tax advice.
Lynam Tax domicile specialists have decades of experience in dealing with tax residence and domicile issues.
Call Paul Lynam today for an initial free, confidential, no obligation, discussion:  0845 643 9997

I’ve made an error in a Tax Return and want to claim tax back: can I?
If your Overpayment Relief claim is straightforward you should have little problem getting your tax back.  However, many tax officers seem to feel they have to refuse every possible claim; sometimes on the most tenuous grounds.  It can take resilience, determination and skill to succeed. If you feel daunted by the tax rules and think a tax officer is treating you unfairly then it may be down to his ignorance, lack of training or simple misunderstanding of very complicated rules.  Experienced tax advisers like Lynam Tax experts can help the tax inspector understand the law.  Frequently this will help your claim succeed and get your tax back.

If you’re subject to a worrying Tax Enquiry or Inspection or you think you have over-declared  your income or gains and need to make an Overpayment Claim: you can discuss this with one of our sympathetic, experienced experts.

For a free, private, no obligation consultation, call Paul Lynam today on 0845 643 9997

Lynam Tax Investigation Experts have a vast amount of practical experience in managing serious tax fraud investigations.  If you are worried about a tax investigation we can advise you on the best course of action.  If appropriate, we can help you manage any necessary disclosures.  If you are facing criminal charges we can help you obtain first class legal representation, in order to obtain the optimum outcome for you, your business and your family.

For a free, private, no obligation consultation, call Paul Lynam today on 0845 643 9997

• You are non-domiciled;
• You have more than £2,000 of unremitted offshore income or gains;
• You have been UK tax resident for 7 of the preceding 9 years;
• You have offshore income of more than £75,000 or offshore capital gains over £175,000 (which have not been remitted to the UK).  [Based on current rates of tax for 2009/10].

If the above conditions relate to you, or you are the beneficiary of an offshore trust, a shareholder of an offshore company, are UK domiciled but ‘not ordinarily resident’ in the UK, or are unsure whether to pay the RBC then you need specialist tax advice.
Lynam Tax domicile specialists have decades of experience in dealing with residence and domicile issues.
Call Paul Lynam today for a free discreet discussion on:  0845 643 9997

The sweetheart arrangement will allow the Swiss government to hand over the names and account details of 4,500 U.S. clients of UBS.  Account holders will be able to appeal those decisions in Switzerland.  The IRS suspects the undeclared accounts are used to hide income and evade tax.  The Swiss have already passed on details of some 500 UBS clients.  Some of the account holders may be US passport holders but may in fact be living outside the US; including in the UK.  It seems highly likely that the taxmen in both countries will be swapping information as part of the “global war on tax evasion”.

Effectively this is an historic weakening of traditional Swiss bank secrecy standards.  Last year UBS accepted that it had helped people hide money from the IRS and paid the U.S. Treasury $780 million.

The verdict significantly redefined the basis on which UK tax residence is decided.  It ruled that the well-known ’90-day’ test, which used to appear in leaflet IR 20 (superseded by HMRC 6), has effectively been misunderstood, and only applies to determine whether an individual who had ceased to be UK-resident subsequently becomes UK-resident again.  The CoA says that the law has not changed, but that IR20 failed to properly explain this issue in IR20.  The judges say a crucial first hurdle has to be cleared by individuals. That is, to show that they have ‘left the UK’ – in the sense of having made a clean break.

How does this affect me?
The ruling only applies to those who had been UK Resident and claim to have left the UK permanently or indefinitely.  It does not affect those who have taken up a full-time contract of employment overseas lasting a complete tax year, and whose visits to the UK are less than 90 days a year on average.
Those who want to be able to show they have left the UK permanently or indefinitely must have evidence that they have made a clean break from the UK.
People who left the UK several years ago and followed professional advice – on the basis of the rules set out in the old leaflet IR20 – can now only hope that they have broken UK tax residence.  The latest interpretation is retrospective.  Some wealthy individuals will have realised gains or received substantial income overseas since they “left” the UK.  Those who had an explicit residency ruling from the taxman will probably be safe.  Others may be at risk of HMRC starting a Tax Enquiry and making assessments under the “discovery” rules.

If you are confused or worried about your Tax Resident status then you may need specialist tax advice.
Lynam Tax Residence Specialists have decades of experience in dealing with tax residence and domicile issues.
Call Paul Lynam today for an initial free, confidential, no obligation, discussion:  0845 643 9997

Potential changes include scrapping the seven year period of grace; which mainly benefits in-bound professionals on short term contracts (e.g. doctors).
The changes in April 2008 shifted the tectonic plates of taxation for non-domiciliaries.  The new rules are mind-bendingly complicated, even for seasoned tax specialists.  Further changes can only lead to more confusion and more potential for non-doms to maket mistakes in their tax returns – posibly leading to a costly and intrusive tax enquiry.

How can Lynam Tax specialists help me?
If you are tax resident but non-domiciled in the UK you may well need specialist help.  Lynam Tax specialise in this particularly complex area of tax law.

For a free and no obligation, private consultation, call Paul Lynam today: on 0845 643 9997

So:  did the Adjudicator give the taxman a gold star?
Far from it!  The Adjudicator took on 2,092 complaints about HMRC in 2008/09.  HMRC effectively lost two thirds of all cases.  To compound matters the Adjudicator had a backlog of over 2,000 complaints against the taxman, waiting to be settled, and you can expect to wait a year for a conclusion from the Adjudicator.  Cynics suggest this is because HMRC provide the staff!  And there is no effective way to complain about delays by the Adjudicator!
A main area for complaint was the failure by tax officers to correctly apply a concession for writing off tax arrears where HMRC has been slow to use information.

Was the Ombudsman more impressed?
Not at all.  There were 2,159 complaints about HMRC to the ombudsman during the year. 113 older cases relating to HMRC were also concluded.  The Ombudsman tries to sort out complaints in a quick informal way, only a minority of cases are dealt with by an in-depth investigation.  In 2008/09 only 24 HMRC complaints were fully investigated.  Given that these are the cases that got through the other complaints’ processes, a staggering 40% of these were fully or partly upheld!  It is not reported how many of the 2,000+ informal settlements found against the taxman.  Frustratingly, over a quarter of cases take more than a year.
In one case the taxman was criticised for being ‘self-serving and mean-spirited’ and pursuing the taxpayer ‘with a reckless disregard for his rights’. The taxpayer suffered severe detriment and the Ombudsman recommended a compensation payment of £50,000.  It can pay to complain.

Should I complain about HMRC?
The time and effort needed firstly to get through HMRC’s own complaints procedure means that only a resilient taxpayer is likely to take their case all the way.  It has to be said that pursuing a complaint against HMRC can be a soul-destroying task.  But where taxpayers feel ground down by the inflexible state machinery and the jobs-worth mentality of bureaucrats there is at least a remedy of sorts.  Bear in mind that before complaints reach these bodies you first have to approach the inspector’s line manager.  You can then go ‘off-line’ for so-called ‘Internal Review’.  You can then start the formal complaints procedure; involving another HMRC official.  You can ask your MP for informal help (which can be very successful).  Only then if you are still frustrated do you need to approach the Adjudicator/Ombudsman.  Yet their reports show that even after HMRC have carried out their own reviews at three levels (at least) they still make serious mistakes in over 1,000 cases – each and every year!

Do I Need Professional Help?
Where substantial sums are involved (or may be due in compensation) then it can be very worthwhile employing professionals experienced in finding their way through the bureaucratic maze.
Lynam Tax Dispute Experts have decades of experience in sorting out contentious issues with the taxman.
For a free and totally confidential initial discussion call Paul Lynam now on:  0845 643 9997.

NB. Lynam Tax does not deal with working family tax credit issues.

If the Tax Tribunal decides the case in HMRC’s favour, the law entitles the taxman to collect the disputed tax at that point – even if the taxpayer is pursuing an appeal to the Upper Tribunal or the higher Courts. In practice HMRC have not enforced collection until all rights of appeal have been exhausted.  From 1st April the taxman will normally want the tax paid following a win at the Tax Tribunal or a Higher Court. If it ultimately loses the case, HMRC will then refund the tax.  This puts Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Corporate Tax on the same footing as the more aggressive VAT, where the general rule was always that the VAT has to be paid upfront except in cases of hardship.  Nevertheless, the ability to postpone tax pending a hearing by the Tribunal, still puts the taxpayer in a fairly advantageous position in terms of litigating direct tax cases.

Do I need specialist help with my tax appeal?
The Tax Tribunal is an independent body which adjudicates in disputes with HMRC.  Taking an appeal to the Tax Tribunal can be a highly effective way of resolving disputes with HMRC.  However, the taxman uses specialist ‘Appeals’ teams to lead its cases at Tribunal.
Lynam Tax Dispute Experts have decades of experience in handling contentious tax appeals and can assist taxpayers and their accountants with the process; in order to achieve the optimum results.
If you need help with a difficult tax dispute or a contentious tax appeal call Paul Lynam now for a confidential and no obligation discussion on: 0845 643 9997.

This punishment by public humiliation is on top of potential 100% penalties for “deliberate understatement”.  There’s a further 100% maximum penalty (i.e. an eye watering 200%), where an offshore bank account is involved.

The details published will be the “minimum necessary” to identify the person and the offence:  e.g. name, address, nature of business, period covered, amount of tax and penalty.  The taxman will put the Tax Offenders Register on the HMRC website and issue a press release.
How could it affect me?
Major worries to any business proprietor “named and shamed” on the tax offenders register include the potential for: credit refusal from lenders and suppliers; loss of customers’ goodwill; refusal by customers to pay in advance or leave deposits; a negative impact on the valuation of the business. The impact on families could also be extremely stressful.

What safeguards will there be?

• The decisions which underpin the scheme can be appealed to the independent Tax Tribunal.  If the Tribunalfeels there is no evaded tax, or that the understatement was not deliberate, then the taxman cannot use ‘Naming and Shaming’;
• Publication is not allowed until all appeal opportunities are finalised;
• The taxpayer must be notified and given reasonable opportunity to make representations;
• The taxpayer will be sent an advance copy of the details HMRC intend to publish;
• HMRC must publish within 12 months of the penalty becoming final and remove material 12 months later;
• HMRC will not publish your address if you can be identified without it and without potential for you to be confused for another person.
• HMRC will not publish at all in certain exceptional circumstances, after taking into account representations by the taxpayer.

How can Lynam Tax Enquiry Experts help me?
If you are undergoing a tax investigation or a compliance check then specialist help from Lynam Tax Enquiry Experts could save your blushes and your business.  Plus, our massive experience will almost certainly save you tax and penalties as well.
*For a free, confidential chat about your tax affairs, don’t delay, call Paul Lynam now on 0845 643 9997.