NDO - podcasts

A short podcast from HMRC on the New Disclosure Opportunity, here. 

As has become the way with those of a certain disposition, the language is emotive.  One presumes this is intentional, but it is a high risk strategy and only time will tell whether borrowing from the criminal lawyer's lexicon, and talking of evasion, criminality and dishonesty, is going to push the right buttons with recalcitrant taxpayers. It is certainly difficult to imagine it will do so with taxpayers who are either unprepresented, or who have access only to general practitioner accountants and solicitors  who could not be expected to have expertise in tax investigations and are, therefore, unable to put everything into context.

It is also noteworthy that the Revenue continue to believe that the so-called criminal tax evaders are being "harboured" by agents.  Given the language now being used, and the Revenue's contempt displayed for agents generally, one assumes it will now only be a matter of time before the logical step, of accusing professionals of being criminal conspiracists, will be upon us.

A more detailed, and less shrill, CIOT podcast on the NDO can be downloaded here.