Taxing Matters

Warren Buffet once quipped, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation and only 5 minutes to ruin it". The potential impact of reputational damage can be significant during litigation, or a commercial dispute. Understanding when to react and how to respond, can make all the difference.

From media strategies to risk mapping, Stuart Leach joins us on this episode to explore how you can best protect your business's public image and reputation, should that become necessary.

An advertising executive turned barrister turned reputation advisor, Stuart now heads up the Litigation & Disputes team at Montfort Communications.

References

·        RPC ReAssure

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In recent times it seems that the word crypto, and the underlying blockchain technology associated with it, is on everyone’s lips. From Elon Musk's effect on the price of Bitcoin to non-fungible tokens in the art world, the debate rages over whether blockchain will revolutionise the world or lead to the dismantling of the existing order.

Many critics have focused on the potential opportunities it might create for fraudulent behaviour. Helping us sort fact from fiction we are delighted to be joined by three of the founding members of the Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network (CFAAR); the world’s first global network consisting of, amongst others, lawyers, accountants and asset recovery specialists.

Carmel King is a Director at Grant Thornton who specialises in asset tracing and recovery for victims of fraud; Dan Wyatt is a Partner at RPC and Chris Whitehouse is a Senior Associate at RPC – both advise on a range of civil and cyber fraud matters, including on the recovery of misappropriated assets.  

References

·        Crypto Fraud and Asset Recovery Network

·        AA v Persons Unknown

·        Wang v Darby

·        Fetch.AI v Persons Unknown

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With increasing pressure on HMRC to collect more tax with less resource, it is more important than ever to communicate effectively with HMRC. In this episode we are joined by Annis Lampard, who leads the tax disclosure and transparency team at Deloitte, to discuss the benefits of a more open dialogue with the Revenue and the steps you should take to improve lines of communication.

With a particular focus on wealthy individuals and mid-size businesses, Annis provides practical advice for taxpayers and their advisors and shares her tips on how to avoid misconceptions, and correct misunderstandings in order to identify what it is HMRC requires and thereby minimise the risk of a formal dispute arising.

References

·      Litigation and Settlement Strategy

·      Research Report: tax compliance behaviour among the wealthy

·      Taxing Matters: Alternative Dispute Resolution

·      The Common Reporting Standard: An HMRC game changer?

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In a much anticipated follow up to our previous episode on the Law Commission's consultation on the law of corporate crime in the UK, we are delighted to be joined by Dr Robin Lööf to dive a little deeper into the key issues at the heart of this important topic.

Robin considers the various options for reform currently being debated and discusses whether, in practice, the law of corporate criminal liability does need to be reformed in order to achieve its intended purpose. Robin draws on his extensive understanding of legal frameworks in other jurisdictions (including the US, France and Italy) to provide a fascinating comparative guide to corporate criminal liability.

References

·      Reform of Corporate Criminal Liability – Considerations in view of the Law Commission Options Paper

·      The complicated question of corporate criminal liability

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In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by fellow tax podcast host Jack Bonehill, the man behind the fantastic Tax Professionals Podcast series.

Through his podcast, Jack aims to provide easily digestible information to tax professionals to help them progress and develop their careers.

We put Jack in the hot seat and pick his brain on the suite of complimentary resources he has created to assist tax professionals, and discuss his own career journey. Jack also shares some of the excellent advice he has provided to professionals over the years.

References

·        Tax Professionals Podcast

·        Tax Professionals free course

·        "Most popular exam help"

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From the team behind Taxing Matters, we are delighted to be able to share with you a short preview of our newest podcast – Unspoken Giants: International Financial Institutions.

Launching soon, in a world first the Unspoken Giants series will bring together senior leaders from the largest International Financial Institutions (IFIs) and Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to discuss their fight against the cancer of corruption and will highlight how this impacts those involved in the projects they fund. From the World Bank and EBRD to the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Global Fund, each episode will provide unique insight into how each IFI operates and the powers they have to investigate and sanction.

If you would like to ensure you are alerted once the episodes are released, or would like to discuss International Financial Institutions further, please contact [email protected].

Show resources

• What are MDBs?
• GIR's focus on MDBs
• FT report on the IFI response to COVID 19

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In a world of increasing digitisation, globalisation and remote working, now more than ever taxpayers are starting to ask "how are HMRC going to find out?". 

In this episode, Jay Sanghrajka, international tax partner at Price Bailey, joins us to explain how HMRC might find out!

Historically, HMRC's investigations were often commenced as a consequence of discrepancies in a taxpayer's record keeping or information being received from disgruntled employees or former spouses. Now, at the heart of HMRC's counter-evasion efforts lies a powerful computer program called “Connect” with 90% of enquiries based on the information it generates.

References

·        What is "Connect"?

·        HMRC’s Connect computer and investigations

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Given the complexity and, at times, lack of clarity in our tax system, concerns have been raised about the extent of HMRC's powers, particularly regarding the range of penalties that can be imposed for innocent mistakes, and the severity of penalties that can be imposed in relation to offshore matters.

There's no 'quick fix' but it is important that there is effective oversight of HMRC. 

In this episode we are delighted to be joined by David Goldberg QC of Gray's Inn Tax Chambers, who in the world of tax law needs no introduction. He shares his deep understanding of the evolution of HMRC's powers and discusses whether there needs to be proper oversight of the exercise of those powers in order to ensure fairness within the system. 

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Twelve years on from the seismic changes to the UK tax appeals system that introduced the First-tier Tribunal and the Upper Tribunal, the Tax Law Review Committee (TLRC) has published its Report "The tax tribunals: the next 10 years".

Intended to be a review of how the tax tribunal system has operated and providing recommendations for changes required for the next 10 years, the Report considers a number of important issues, including access to justice, unacceptable delay and certain tactics deployed by HMRC in an attempt to game the system.

In this episode, we are delighted to be joined by Dr Michael Blackwell, TLRC committee member and Associate Professor of Tax Law at the London School of Economics, to discuss the Report's findings. 

References

·      The Tax Law Review Committee

·      The tax tribunals: the next 10 years

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Many commentators have questioned whether the law relating to corporate criminal liability is still fit for purpose or whether it is due a significant overhaul. The Law Commission has been asked by the Ministry of Justice, Home Office, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy, HM Treasury and the Attorney General's Office, to consult on how the law of corporate criminal liability functions and how, if at all, it should change.

The Law Commission is inviting anyone with an interest in this area to make their voice heard by 31 August 2021 at Corporate criminal liability Consultation.

With the potential for significant change on the horizon, we are joined by David Allan, a criminal law reform lawyer with the Law Commission who is working on the corporate criminal liability project, to discuss how the law currently operates and some of the suggested changes to corporate criminal liability that have been put forward.

References

• Corporate criminal liability project
• Corporate criminal liability Discussion Paper
• Corporate criminal liability Consultation

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