Michael Page faces £40m tax hit
HMRC looking to claw back money it paid recruiters as part of a VAT settlement
Recruitment consultancy Michael Page could owe HMRC an unexpected £40m after
the taxman announced it was “considering taking steps” to claw back money handed
over as part of an overpaid VAT bill.
Details of the case, dating back to 2003, emerged in the group’s trading
group update, which showed a 42% drop in profits to £82.2m, reported the
Times.
Michael Page has initially submitted a claim for overpaid VAT and received
£26.5m as part settlement and another £10.9m in interest.
However the taxman notified the group last month that it had reviewed the
payment and now thinks “the claim in whole or in part should not have been
paid”.