In June 2010 the Tax Health Plan (THP) came to a close. This plan had enabled medical professionals with undisclosed tax liabilities to settle their affairs with a fixed penalty of only 10%.
Now, two years on, HMRC is still sifting through information it has received (and is continuing to receive) from various sources. It is therefore actively investigating medical professionals who did not take up the opportunity afforded by the THP.
Anyone who is now found to have not declared relevant income can expect stiffer penalties and even criminal prosecutions. Indeed HMRC has made no secret of its desire to prosecute more people this year than ever before and including medical professionals in the list of those prosecuted might be considered as a major 'advertising' coup for HMRC.
Nevertheless there is an ongoing unique opportunity, not seen in previous disclosure facilities and unlikely to be repeated in the future, for certain taxpayers to make a disclosure of tax irregularities on favourable terms. This is afforded by the Liechtenstein disclosure facility (LDF). The LDF is subject to certain conditions (for example an offshore asset needed to be held at 1 September 2009), but if applicable to a medical practitioner's circumstances, may limit their exposure even if they did not take advantage of the THP.
The benefits of the LDF include a guarantee of no criminal prosecution, a fixed 10% penalty for tax years up to 5 April 2009 and as far back as 6 April 1999, and a facility for UK and worldwide tax disclosures. Further, the LDF does not involve meetings with HMRC and an individual's affairs are handled by a specialist HMRC team with a nominated direct contact.
If anyone, including medical professionals, think that they have an issue it is important to take professional advice as soon as possible for a relatively pain-free financial outcome.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
