Businesses urged to invoke safeguards ahead of new criminal offence

The Facilitation of Tax Evasion Offences (Guidance About Prevention) Regulations SI 2017/876 have been published.

The new rules will implement HMRC guidance Tackling Tax Evasion: government guidance for the corporate offence of failure to prevent the criminal facilitation of tax evasion dated 1 September 2017.

The guidance is intended to assist relevant organisations to devise reasonable prevention procedures to mitigate the risk of associated persons criminally facilitating tax evasion. The information contained within it can be used to consider whether the reasonable procedures defence is available and enhance the understanding of government expectations.

HMRC expects the guidance to inform trade bodies in the development of sector-specific guidance for their members which can be put forward for the government to endorse.

The Law Society of England and Wales has already reported that it was liaising closely with UK Finance (formerly the British Bankers Association) and Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and...