Electricians Tax Safe Plan (ETSP) – HMRC on the look out from February 2012
Having successfully targetted plumbers, HMRC are set to target the next trade on their list – Electricians.
The Electricians Tax Safe Plan (ETSP) is due to start in February 2012. Similarly to HMRC’s plumbers’ campaign, it gives an opportunity to another group of trades people to come forward and declare unpaid tax.
From HMRC’s website:
With the PTSP so far generating an additional £1.98million, it is no surprise that HMRC would be interested in pursuing another trade, especially when more sophisticated software is now available to trace those people not paying enough tax, or claiming too much back in their tax refunds.
HMRC almost certainly holds information relating to electricians as they did for plumbers where they acquired information from Corgi and Gas Safe to aid their investigation of potential targets.
If you are an electrician who suspects your tax affairs are not completely up-to-date you’d be well-advised to take the disclosure opportunity. This could be the underdeclaration of income, overclaim of expenses or something unrelated to your electricians business.
We recommend that those who think they might owe tax seek advice from an accountant or tax adviser before making a declaration. This way the bill for tax, interest and penalties can be kept to a minimum.
Bettertax are tradesmen’s tax refund specialists and our advice is always free. If you are at all concerned with this latest HMRC development, give us a call.