• HMRC has announced yet another tax amnesty, this time in relation to those who have not completed and submitted self-assessment for 2011/12. With a deadline looming on 15 October 2013, those who contact HMRC will only face a much reduced penalty of 10% rather than the usual 100%. Failure to do so could lead to a criminal prosecution for tax fraud, so says HMRC.
• There has been a huge increase of reports to the HMRC tax fraud hotline, and the vast majority of those making the reports are former spouses!
• The much-lauded UK–Swiss tax deal has become something of a disappointment for the Treasury; the amnesty for those UK citizens who held undisclosed sums in Swiss accounts has collected less than £1 billion, rather than the £3.2 billion predicted by the OBR. The Swiss have reported that there were fewer suspect accounts than the UK authorities were hoping for!

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