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9am Lowdown: Abbey Tax picks up Gabelle

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9th Jan 2017
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Good morning and welcome to the 9am Lowdown which today features Abbey Tax’s acquisition of Gabelle, an update on HMRC’s Connect system and increased scrutiny of wealthier taxpayers.

 

Abbey Tax picks up Gabelle

Abbey Tax has acquired London-based tax specialist Gabelle, making it the UK's largest independent tax consultancy.

The acquisition will see an expansion in the range of Abbey Tax’s consultancy services as it continues to support and complement the services delivered by its accountant client base.

Christian Stobbs, Abbey Tax managing director, said: “Since its launch, Gabelle has developed a first-class reputation for tax expertise, providing highly complementary services to Abbey Tax’s work with accountants. Gabelle’s team of qualified professionals are thought-leaders in their field and in a short period the business has established an impressive portfolio of clients. 

“Furthermore, with ever-increasing HMRC compliance activity and the legislative uncertainty around indirect taxation created by the EU referendum, the acquisition enhances Abbey Tax’s ability to stay at the forefront of tax legislation, providing authoritative expertise and support to our clients,” Stobbs said.

Paula Tallon, managing partner at Gabelle, added: “The complementary nature of the two businesses makes Abbey Tax an ideal partner for Gabelle on its next stage of development. We look forward to working with the Abbey Tax team as we continue to build on our track record of forming long term relationships and using our collective expertise to provide tax advisory services to our clients.”

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Revenue unveils ‘snooper computer'

HMRC is in the process of fully deploying for the first time its “super-computer” designed to identify those who may have paid too little tax.

According to a report in The Telegraph the Connect system, which has been years in development and costing £100m, will now draw on information from government and corporate sources to create a profile of each taxpayer’s total income.

Where this varies from the info provided by the taxpayer, the account will be flagged and could be subject to further investigation.

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Taxman increasing scrutiny of 'wealthier' taxpayers

Wealthier taxpayers will be the subject of increasing scrutiny by HMRC, accounting firm RSM has warned.

Gary Heynes, head of private client at RSM, said HMRC is increasingly looking at the "wealthy" in the belief more tax can be collected by carefully scrutinising their affairs.

Heynes told FT Adviser that HMRC is now targeting 100 criminal prosecutions a year from this group, rather than two a year as previously: “The hope is that they will not make unnecessary enquiries to do so. Common reporting standard information will be flowing into HMRC from overseas jurisdictions which HMRC will be matching up with information filed in tax returns.

“While there will be a window of opportunity running until September 2018 under the requirement to correct regime, anyone failing to correct their UK tax position, particularly in relation to overseas income and gains, will face the full force of HMRC,” Heynes said.

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By User deleted
09th Jan 2017 20:27

Sounds faceless. Enjoy

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