HMRC have announced the arrival of special units whose sole aim will be to target tax evasion, beginning with the restaurant trade . . .
The new tax evasion team will start in London before moving onto restaurants based in Scotland and then in the North West.
The new initiative is part of the government’s continued fight against tax evasion and their aim to claw back more taxes.
“These task forces are a new approach which uses HMRC’s resources to identify and tackle rule-breakers and evaders swiftly and effectively” said Mike Eland of HMRC.
“Only those who choose to break the rules, or deliberately evade the tax they should be paying, will be targeted.”
Restaurant owners have however been of interest to tax inspectors for a long time and are seen to be a high-risk for tax evasion.
It is believed though that HMRC will not purely be interested in the restaurant owners but also the earnings of the staff.
Restaurants should have a dedicated troncmaster who would be responsible for sharing out tips between waiters, cooking staff, maître d’s, etc.
This role would also include administering PAYE on the amount of tops which are classed as taxable supplementary remunerations.
However, if individual waiters handle their own cash tips then they should declare the amount received in tips over the course of a tax year as additional earnings on a Self-Assessment tax return.
If you are worried that you are going to be included in HMRC’s latest tax evasion crackdown or have already received a visit from the taxman then get advice NOW.
