Tax advisers unaware Crime Bill duties
Many tax advisers remain in the dark about their obligations to report money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Bill.
According to the Chartered Institute of Taxation, the bill, introduced to parliament last week, is not clear about the obligations of unregulated tax advisers. For those who are regulated by the Financial Services Authority for providing investment advice, there is a clear ‘failure to disclose offence’.
Experts in the UK fear anti-money-laundering measures in the UK may have ‘disastrous’ effects on people who have made ‘innocent’ errors in paying their taxes.
John Roberts, chairman of CIOT standards committee, said: ‘Our concerns remain that there should be a better definition in the bill to distinguish serious crimes from petty offences.’
The bill is intended to put tax advisers and accountants at the heart of the battle against terror by making it law that they report their suspicions to the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
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Evasion bill risks ‘disastrous’
