Blunders at HMRC will make people move money out of Britain
Blunders at HM Revenue & Customs will encourage an increasing number of people to consider moving their finances out of Britain, according to the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organisations.
The founder and chief executive of deVere Group, Nigel Green, has spoken out in light of a leaked e-mail showing that the UK tax authority miscalculated many final bills last year, leading to uncertainty for up to five million individuals.
He said: “HMRC has something of a chequered record when it comes to mistakes, and I fully expect that this latest one will prompt even more people – especially those who already live full or part-time overseas, or have family, work or other connections abroad – to consider transferring their financial affairs out of the UK, and therefore out of reach of the UK taxman.
“There are real and understandable concerns about such blunders, especially following recent proposals which would allow HMRC to raid bank accounts without going through the courts. With this in mind, it is highly likely that an increasing number of individuals will be looking to protect and maximise their money in safe, lower tax jurisdictions outside Britain.
“From our work with our 80,000 clients, it is our experience that there is a groundswell of annoyance with the catalogue of errors committed by the UK tax authority – an organisation that can take 40% of your earnings – and more and more people are looking for secure and established alternatives to basing their financial affairs exclusively in the UK.”
