Would your tax return stand up to public scrutiny?
Posted: Friday 27 January 2012
Mitt Romney, the US Republican Party 2012 Presidential Nomination hopeful, has found himself in hot water over recent claims that he has paid disproportionately little tax on his income and capital gains, which are said to exceed $40m (£26m) over the last two years.
Bowing to political pressure to be more transparent about his wealth and financial dealings, he has now made public his most recent tax returns. You can read more about the story on the BBC news website here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16604969
This is obviously an extreme case, and presumably Mr Romney and his tax advisers are confident that the returns will stand up to rigorous analysis. However, all this fuss led us to wonder: how healthy are your tax affairs are looking?
In the UK at present tax returns are private documents, destined only to become public if you fall out with H M Revenue & Customs and end up in litigation with them. Hopefully that will never happen to you, but just suppose your tax return did become subject to wider scrutiny...are you satisfied that it is properly in order? Have you returned all your income and capital gains and only claimed reliefs for which you are genuinely eligible?
If the 31 January filing deadline gives you nightmares, or if you are worried that you have underpaid tax, Morton Fraser can help. We offer a full tax compliance service and can attend to all your tax needs, including completion of tax returns, payment of tax, income and capital gains tax planning, and negotiating with H M Revenue & Customs. For more information, please contact Morna Coutts, taxation and asset protection expert, at morna.coutts@morton-fraser.com
