How could that have happened? How could HMRC have reached the point where it cannot chase that much tax? How limited are resources is this is the case?
By Richard Murphy, founder of the Tax Justice Network
“A TEMPORARY employment agency has gone into liquidation owing HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) £58 million in unpaid tax.
“Edinburgh-based Employ-E, a division of Legitas Group which is also in liquidation, is owned by lawyer David Allen, who is reported to own a golf course and mansion house in the Borders.
“Employ-E had about 60,000 low-paid temporary workers on its books, who it supplied to recruitment agencies throughout the UK.”
The real question here is, how could that have happened? How could HMRC have reached the point where it cannot chase that much tax? How limited are resources is this is the case?
There is also another question, which is, of course, where is the money? An agency should have been reimbursed all costs including tax. How could it lose that much money?
In the case of both questions surely HMRC should have been on top of this? If not I can only put it down to under-resourcing.
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71 Responses to “How can a company go bust owing £58 million in tax?”
Alec
It’s frankly disreputable to continue bashing out summat which has zero relevance to the title piece and which others have said they will not engage with. You are a classic pub bore.
Contribute to the conversation.
~alec
LB
Read what was going on.
They are claiming expenses. You do not pay tax on expenses, so long as they are legitimate.
Even MPs don’t pay tax on expenses, although in their case they passed a law expressly forbidding it, and making sure that HMRC were not allowed to investigate this.
For the plebs, the expenses have to be wholly necessary for the job. ie. There are tests.
So there is no dodging tax, unless, and this is the crucial part, the expenses are not legitimate.
Tax and NI, are not paid on expenses if they pass the test.
The employer pays NI on the wage after expenses.
It’s only fraud if the expenses are not legitimate.
HMRC doesn’t get a reduced level of tax. If the employees were incurring expenses, but not claiming, them the HMRC was getting something they shouldn’t and the workers were poorer as a result.
LB
I am, you’re not.
The money is still peanuts in the scheme of the mess of the state.
As I’ve pointed out, 33 minutes, and its all gone – already – several times over.
So why shouldn’t the workers get their expenses paid?
Why should they have to pay the expenses out of taxed income to the state?
Alec
Boring!
Your last two sentences are simply begged questions, and show you simply have no idea what charges are being levied at Employ-E… and what’s more, you have no desire to dispel your ignorance. The old adage of what to do with someone who knows not that he knows not seems appropriate.
~alec
Alec
Pensions, now MPs expenses. You’re all over the place. In my experience, splattering a thread with ever-changing information is a sign of a cheat who’s trying to tie his opponents up in endless verification and win through default.
The article does not state the 15,000 workers are culpable.
~alec