UK Taxman Hits YouTube
By: Ainsley Brown
The UK taxman is now using YouTube to get its message across. I mean literally the “UK Taxman” – Permanent Secretary for Tax in HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Dave Hartnett.
And what is his message. Well you guessed it, pay your taxes or else.
Yes I know, that’s just a little bit too simplistic but it none the less still holds to be true. The video, however, has a specific target audience, more than simple the general taxpaying public. It seeks to engage, and gently remind those taxpayers whom may have undeclared offshore savings that they have a legal duty to declare such holdings and those that do not will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law – as I said gentle.
The Permanent Secretary or the UK Taxman or as I have taken to calling him, in the video – the first and I suspect not the last use of social media by HMRC – also urges undeclared offshore holders to come forward and take advantage of the HMRC’s tax amnesty program. The New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) was launched this July and offers tax evaders a chance to avoid criminal prosecution in exchange for declaring offshore accounts, and paying the taxes owed along with a relatively small penalty.
The NDO is set to expire on November 30 of this year. Those who declare on or before this date by phone or in writing have until January 31, 2010 to settle their bill with the UK Taxman. Those that chose to notify by email, interestingly enough, have more time, March 2010 to settle up. Those who do not could face the full rigour of the law – criminal prosecution.
Way the difference? I really can’t tell you, notice is notice is notice and it should not matter the medium. However, I would venture to guess that some policy considerations, taking account of the differences in mediums, must have gone into making this decision – well, I hope that there are policy considerations.
This tax immensity program is the second such for HMRC. Its 2007 campaign nabbed the Treasury £400 million after 45, 000 evaders came forward. The Taxman and his colleagues have taken an increasingly hard line stance on tax evaders, especially those with undeclared offshore accounts, in the wake of dwindling tax revenues during the recession.
