Latest News

Case reinforces Watson Buckle's tax inquiry reputation

Tax crackdowns are rarely out of the headlines these days, with HM Revenue& Customs launching campaigns and taskforces to target everyone from private tutors to online traders and scrap metal dealers to Swiss bank account holders.

And with the government pumping £900 million into tackling noncompliance – with the aim of bringing in around £7 billion a year in extra tax revenues by 201415 – there could hardly have been a better time for Watson Buckle to build a name for itself as a goto firm for when the taxman comes knocking.

Over the last 18 months, Watson Buckle has shown itself as a force to be reckoned with by turning an HMRC inquiry that began with the client facing a multimillion pound tax bill – and potentially a criminal prosecution – into an expected refund of some £3 million early in the new year.

Watson Buckle managing partner Susan Sedgwick says: “The client was an accounts client of ours but their tax affairs were handled by another advisor. When HMRC became involved, we were asked to deal with the case, as our tax partner, John Kinsella, is exHMRC Special Compliance Unit and we had the tax experience and knowledge of how they operated to handle what turned out to be a very, very high level inquiry.”

As well as substantial risk areas – including offshore trusts and issues around benefits in kind and share and property valuations – the case was also complicated by a lack of paperwork and what Susan diplomatically describes as “tax planning that had not been as well thoughtout as it might have been”.

Despite the case becoming ever more complex as the team delved into it, Watson Buckle’s plan of attack – including a comprehensive report and insistence on a full disclosure meeting, resulting in immunity from prosecution – has achieved what promises to be a highly successful outcome and the firm now plans to capitalise on what is set to be a profitable specialism.

In line with that tax focus, the tax department is currently looking at developing a number of bespoke tax strategies which Watson Buckle is planning to roll out during 2012.

Elsewhere, Watson Buckle is responding to a trend emerging from difficult trading conditions of clients seeking added value advice and services to help them run their businesses better and more costeffectively.

Susan says: “Routine compliance work is taken for granted by clients but now they want more from us.
“In line with that, we’re developing partnerships that offer benefits to our clients. For example, we’re in an arrangement with a provider that offers our clients a discount on the cost of commercial property rate reviews and we’re looking at something similar with a firm that will identify more costeffective utilities suppliers.

“Fortunately, the vast majority of our clients are keeping their heads above water and we want to do as much as we can to help them stay that way. Times are tough, but we’re using what we learn from our clients as a pringboard to develop our own offering, and that can only benefit us – and them – in the longer term.”