Tax bodies tackle 'thorny issues' with new code on dealing with taxman
Six of the major tax and accountancy organisations have joined forces for the first time to issue new guidance on dealing with the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise.
The revised professional guidelines are designed to clarifying a number of ‘thorny issues’ including money laundering, Inland Revenue errors and disclosures under self-assessment.
For the first time the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants joined the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the Association of Taxation Technicians, the Tax Faculty of the ICAEW and the Institute of Indirect Taxation to draw up the revised guide.
The guidance on disclosure has been completely rewritten to take in new rules on self-assessment for companies, with advice on how to protect clients from the revenue’s discovery powers.
Accountants and tax specialist are also advised to return excessive overpayments back to the revenue, regardless of clients’ wishes. Members are also told to keep detailed notes of meetings and telephone calls with clients and tax authorities.
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