An under an amnesty scheme, they are being given the opportunity to own up now to unpaid tax and get a reduced penalty.
Any plumbers or similar trades who have tax to pay but have not yet told HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can come forward by 31 May to state what they owe. In what HMRC calls “the plumbers’ tax safe plan” (PTSP), if they make a full disclosure, most face a low penalty rate of 10%, with a maximum of 20%. They have until 31 August to make their disclosure and arrange for payment to be made.
After that date, HMRC will target investigations at those who have failed to come forward and make a full declaration. Substantial penalties or even criminal prosecution could follow.
PTSP is the first initiative in a campaign focused on tradespeople. It is designed to make it easy for those in the plumbing industry to put their tax affairs right.
HMRC director of risk and intelligence Mike Wells said: “Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for plumbers to come forward, make a full disclosure and benefit from a reduced penalty.
“We will be using various intelligence sources to target plumbers who have not declared their full income. I strongly urge any in this group who think they may owe tax on their income to get in touch with HMRC and get their tax affairs in order simply and on the best available terms.”
Mike Down, tax investigations partner at accountants Baker Tilly said: “This new initiative has been expected for some time and builds on previous ‘amnesties’ relating to offshore bank accounts, Liechtenstein and doctors and dentists. Whilst the new scheme inevitably falls short of a general amnesty, interestingly HMRC actively invites anyone with tax irregularities to come forward and disclose using the PTSP forms in the expectation of very similar beneficial terms.
“Anybody with extra income or gains to disclose, whether in the plumbing industry or not, should seriously consider coming forward now. Those who do not and who are subsequently found out will be liable to penalties of between 35% and 100% of the tax evaded.”
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