Tax fraud enquiries. Code of Practice 9. COP9. Areas that have piqued my interest since working in tax.
Some of the tax fraud that takes place must be crazy.
This episode will help you better serve your clients, should they be caught up in tax fraud or a COP9 situation.
Lucy Sauvage, our guest for this episode, explains what COP9 is, what a typical COP9 enquiry looks like, advice to prevent you messing up a COP9 enquiry, examples of common tax frauds and a story where Lucy’s client left HMRC with almost no choice but to pursue a criminal investigation into them.
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Guest – Lucy Sauvage
Lucy is an experienced tax dispute resolution-risk advisor and is a Partner at BDO UK.
She works with both individuals and a wide range of businesses from ‘one man bands’ to FTSE100 multi-nationals depending on the issue.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucysauvage/
Website: https://www.bdo.co.uk/en-gb/our-people/lucy-sauvage
Me – Jack Bonehill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackbonehill94/
Email: jack@thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com
Timings
- A bit about Lucy’s career
- (4:45) A big about COP9 and what it is
- (7:30) Who instigates COP9? HMRC or taxpayer?
- (9:00) What is and isn’t tax fraud?
- (13:00) What prompts HMRC to open a COP9 enquiry?
- (16:30) What a typical COP9 enquiry looks like, the process
- (24:15) What are some of the tax frauds Lucy has seen? Examples
- (32:15) Risks associated with going down the COP9 route (to taxpayer and their tax advisor/accountant)
- (37:45) Can COP9 apply to businesses as well as individuals?
- (39:45) Any COP9 disaster stories that Lucy has
- (47:00) Typical COP9 mistakes and how tax advisors and taxpayers avoid COP9 going badly?
- (51:15) Should COP9 enquiries always be handled by specialists?
Resources
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Tax Research Masterclass – finding the answer to tax questions, using tax legislation and guidance
Tax Advice Masterclass – how to provide high-quality tax advice that clients value
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