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HMRC’s anticipated tax ‘amnesty’ for electricians was launched today, a month later than scheduled.
Under the new electricians' tax safe plan (ETSP) – reported by Taxation in early December and originally scheduled to begin on 12 January – around 50,000 individuals will be invited by letter to come forward with details of previously undisclosed earnings.
For the purposes of the initiative, the Revenue will consider an electrician to be anyone who installs, maintains or tests electrical systems, equipment or appliances under stringent safety regulations.
Those who enter into the ETSP will be expected to pay no more that six years’ worth of tax and face a penalty of between 10% and 20% of the money owed to HMRC.
To take advantage of the campaign, the taxpayer must notify HMRC of his or her intention to take part by 15 May, while 14 August is the deadline for both the disclosure and payment. Electricians who do not come forward may face criminal investigation and prosecution, warned the taxman.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation representative on the Revenue’s compliance reform forum, Gary Ashford, noted that the similar initiative aimed at plumbers last year led to ten arrests, and the ETSP is reinforcement of HMRC’s determination to ‘stem the flow of potential tax revenue into the hidden economy and meet their target of bringing in an extra £7 billion over the [duration of this] Parliament’.
