Anger as Revenue eyes sports event traders
Letters sent to 600 owners of small businesses preparing for Cheltenham
Traders preparing for the upcoming Cheltenham festival have reacted angrily
to letters sent to them by Revenue and Customs warning them against trying to
fiddle their taxes.
Peter Christensen, the chairman of the Cheltenham Hospitality Association,
said: ‘The Revenue has gone too far by sending personally addressed letters in a
tone that feels like they are treating traders as guilty of tax evasion until
proven innocent. They are effectively saying “look out, Big Brother is watching
you”.’
Six hundred letters were sent to Cheltenham traders with similar ones
expected to be sent to traders planning on operating at other big sporting
events like Wimbledon and the Open Championship at St Andrews, warning them that
they will be under close scrutiny, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The annual four-day festival, which starts on 14 March, is expected to
generate around ?50m for the local economy.