This comment on the blog today is worth repeating:
Well I am a big supporter of smaller businesses, but some proprietors just refuse to pay their tax, even though the profit have been artificially reduced. Usually these people have a very hard attitude towards crime, benefits and the poor. How do I know this? Well, Richard isn't the only qualified accountant that wants social justice. (Note that it isn't me that has reduced the profits!).
@ Martin
Even more reason to increase staffing at HM Revenue and Customs — one of Richard's favourite topics!
Some (business) people (after fiddling their books to show artificially low profits) want their dust bins emptying, a health service, the fire brigade and police without contributing towards them: and then make hypocritical and derogatory comments about the performance of these services.Stop this by making their accountants “shop” them which in turn will help the HMRC to fine them. Regularly and heavily.
I am sure the accountant who wrote is absolutely right: there are large numbers of corrupt small businesses in the UK. It's why the tax gap is much bigger than HMRC admit. It's also why David Gauke is grossly negligent to ignore my warnings on the number of small companies being struck from the UK register of companies each year - none of whom he says could possibly owe any tax, a claim which puts him firmly in box entitled 'naive, gullible and incompetent' unless the one marked 'wilfully turning a blind eye' applies instead. I'll publish more on this negligence on his part soon.
But now we're having a discussion on social responsibility will Gauke do anything about it? Don't bet on it.
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Ok there may well be a Tax Gap, although the effective tax rates for some small business are very high, if you add VAT for retail businesses and Business rates. But as any small business Accountant should know, you are almost entirely dependant on the clients records showing what they should show. Larger businesses at least have some
internal controls,it should in theory, mean that records are more complete and accurate. There already exists
legislation for Professionals to shop Tax Evasion under Money Laundering and Terrorism legislation.
The problem is the area betwen avoidance and evasion, or even “evoidance” as I like to describe it. But we are
not the police force for peoples’ morals, we can only act in accordance with the legislation, letter and spirit too, but no more.
Entirely untrue
An ethical profession does consider its clients’ morals
And it acts on its feeling about them
Your position is profoundly unethical in other words
Hmm RM ,strikes me you have some ignorance of the subject. Chartered Accountants, that’s all I can speak for,make thousands of reports to NICIS. A big portion of these relate to Tax. HMRC take up a minimal percentage of the cases. So you are right about HM Revenue resources and HM Revenue’s attitude. But what you are wrong about is the application of morals. Whose, or what morals do you apply? Sorry RM , but having resigned and been fired
from good jobs for taking ethical stands I know all about ethical positions. What risks do you take?- or is your sponsorship always secure?
Given that this entire bog is driven by ethics that’s an odd claim to make – and no, I have no certainty of funding, at all
But I’m also not wrong about accountants – the number of reports is paltry
And I maintain – unless a practitioner acts on the basis of ethics there is no basis for their claim to be professional