 One of my regulars is
an accountant and has offered to do my tax for free in return for
my services. Is there anything wrong with that? |
Provided you are
happy with the arrangement there is nothing wrong with it at all.
If you paid him £400 and he then paid you £400 for your
services you are no better and no worse off because although you'd
pay tax on your fee you'd get tax relief on what you pay him. But
he is better off because he would have to pay tax on his fee but
wouldn't get tax relief on his jollies. But that's a matter between
him, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, and his
conscience.
Just make sure he
actually knows what he's doing. An accountant who works for an oil
company and specialises in Petroleum Revenue Tax might not be
ideal.
|
 I don't want to
declare all my income. Will my accountant advise me how much I
should declare to be safe? |
No. Asking an
accountant to help you evade tax is pretty much like him asking you
to provide bareback services. They're both activities which can be
career stopping for both of you, and put all your other clients at
risk. If an accountant is convicted of assisting with tax evasion
he's likely to be prosecuted and find the Revenue applying for an
order to seize the files for every one of his
clients.
|
 So is it best to tell
my accountant as little as possible? |
No, because if you
only give your accountant half a tale he can't give you the best
advice for your circumstances, and help you protect yourself. The
best policy is to be honest with your accountant and honest with
the taxman.
|
 I've heard that
unqualified accountants don't have to bother with the Money
Laundering Regulations. |
Oh yes they do. In
fact they are in a worse position than qualified accountants
because they are supervised HMRC rather than by their professional
body.
|
 I may have evaded tax
in the past. Can I get advice from an accountant on how to put
things right without the risk of him making a Suspicious Activity
Report to SOCA? |
This is a
complicated area but a Chartered or Certified Accountant would have
privilege if he was just advising you about your legal position and
your obligations. An unqualified accountant would not have
privilege and would have to make a report.
|
 If my accountant
makes a report to SOCA will he tell me? |
No. It is a
criminal offence to tip anyone off about a report to
SOCA.
|
 My accountant seems
to think all prostitution is illegal. Do you think he will have
reported me to SOCA? |
Your accountant is
a fool. But if that is what he thinks the law is then he presumably
believes your business income is the proceeds of crime and so he
should have made a report. I think SOCA are well aware of what the
law really says.
|
 I run a brothel.
Would you report me to SOCA? |
If the information
that you run a brothel came to me in the course of my
work as an accountant or tax advisor then yes, I would
have to because running a brothel is illegal. But since it's hard
to hide a brothel I suspect SOCA already
know.
|
1. Do-it-Yourself
