Undoubtedly will be hearing news from HMRC about more and more investigations and fraud convictions.
HMRC is on the hunt for the small fraudsters with more than 30,000 new inspectors employed to check up the individual self assessment tax returns submitted.
A bricklayer is ordered a £500 fine and to pay £2,978 in compensation to HMRC after being found to have evaded tax for the second time.
The Dunfermline Sheriff Court issued the fine to Barry Redpath after pleading guilty initially in October 2019.
Redpath from Scotland failed to attend his first sentencing in November 2019. A warrant was then issued for his arrest. He was then found and arrested at an address in Inverness on 24 November 2021.
Redpath was employed by several construction companies under the Construction Industry Scheme and between 2015-16 he made false statements and inflated how much money he was due back on his self-assessment returns to falsely claim £2,978 of repayments he was not entitled to.
The conviction follows a six-month prison term imposed on Redpath in 2017 after he failed to comply with a Community Payback Order (CPO). He received the CPO in 2015 when he pleaded guilty to evading £8,592 of income tax.
Between, 2012-13 Redpath was found to have knowingly been involved in the fraudulent evasion of income tax. He is making false representations in income tax returns, producing false certificates from his employer, and a false receipt for a vehicle.
At the time the court imposed a community payback order of 200 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within six months.
Redpath claimed that it was a ‘genuine mistake’ however later acknowledges that it was ‘deliberate fraud’. The Court was also told he is was a newly employed as a bricklayer earning £240 a week. However, he was left with £50 a week after paying his bills and expenses.
In sentencing, Sheriff Charles MacNair said:
’This was a significant amount that you evaded by way of income tax. You have now acknowledged that what you told the social worker is incorrect. You aslo told that this was fraudulent and not a mistake.’
An HMRC spokesperson said: ‘Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. Redpath’s second conviction for tax fraud clearly shows he has no regard for stealing money from the public purse.
‘The vast majority of people working in the Scottish construction industry pay the right taxes at the right time. We will not allow them to be cheating by the few who determin to not play by the rules.’
If you are ‘hitting a brickwall’ with your self assessemnt tax return why not contact Adapt Accountancy and Business Solutions Ltd. We are here to offer our customers a piece of mind. Our easy online digitalised access sytems will assist in fast and prompt transmission to the information. We work with our customers using all means of communication ensuring fast reach with our staff.
Don’t hesitate to reach out on 0121 288 889 or email us at [email protected]