More than 600 plumbers may have good reason to be grateful that they came forward under the recent HM Revenue and C ustoms amnesty. A further 600 plumbers who did not are now under investigation and five have been arrested. The clampdown follows a similar targeting of undeclared income by members of the medical profession.More worrying still, HMRC is reported to be considering ‘hundreds of further cases for criminal investigation in the plumbing and medical professions’.
In the case of the plumbing industry, more than £300,000 of additional tax has been yielded following the announcement of an amnesty this spring under which people who volunteered to reveal their undeclared income were promised immunity from prosecution and beneficial treatment as regards penalties.
Next up on the HMRC ‘hit list’ is the restaurant trade.