HMRC has imposed a £150,000 fine on AML Tax (UK) Limited, part of Doug Barrowman’s Isle of Man-based Knox Group, led by Arthur Lancaster. The penalty follows a legal dispute after AML Tax refused to comply with HMRC’s information requests during an ongoing tax investigation.
As a result of the fine, AML Tax is now required to provide crucial financial records to HMRC, enabling the tax authority to calculate the tax owed. The amount currently under review is estimated to exceed £3 million. This latest fine is in addition to previous penalties amounting to approximately £9,000.
Mary Aiston, HMRC’s Counter Avoidance Director, stated, “We are committed to ensuring everyone pays the tax they legally owe. We will not allow companies to simply ignore their legal duty.” She added, “AML Tax used a series of tactics to frustrate HMRC’s efforts to uncover the tax due, in a sustained campaign of non-compliance.”
“I’m delighted their obstructive conduct has been penalised. HMRC is determined to drive promoters of tax avoidance out of business,” Aiston continued.
The Upper Tribunal criticised AML Tax and its director Arthur Lancaster, a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Tax Adviser, describing Lancaster’s conduct during the investigation as “evasive.” The tribunal noted that Lancaster provided minimal evidence, lacked openness, and that “the evidence Mr Lancaster gave was confused, lacking in candour, in some respects incorrect and littered with inconsistencies.”
With the fines now imposed, HMRC will conduct a thorough examination of AML Tax’s financial records from 2014 and 2015 to determine the exact Corporation Tax owed. This increased scrutiny places significant pressure on the firm as HMRC intensifies its efforts to tackle tax avoidance.
Originally published by UKNIP.
