HMRC investigator wants a meeting with me : Should I go?

HMRC investigator wants me to attend a meeting with him. Should I go?

No - well that’s the short answer. Now let’s start with the basics: this is not a meeting, it’s an interview.

When I was an Inspector of Taxes, I came across colleagues who thought it a victory if the taxpayer cried [in the interview].

Recently, an unrepresented taxpayer went to a meeting that ended up lasting five hours,

The individual was so upset and aggrieved at being subjected to this ordeal that they thought it would be easier to agree with the inspector [rather] than resist further.

HMRC employ a carrot and stick approach to interviews: the carrot is that the investigation may be solved quickly if the investigator has the chance meet the taxpayer and talk with them directly. The stick is that refusing to attend can be interpreted as non-cooperation and a penalty may be applicable.

Both the carrot and the stick are fake.

A meeting - certainly in the early part of an investigation - will not speed up an enquiry. As you would logically expect, investigators use meetings to gather information in order to open up avenues of investigation and to test known facts: to see if you are lying to them.

Here is what the HMRC Enquiry Manual tells Inspectors about how important the interview is to an investigation, in one word: “vital” ( Working an Enquiry: Meetings: General ).

Interviews are entirely for the benefit of HMRC.

So now we know that the carrot is fake what about the stick? Well there is no debate about one thing, which is that there is no legal obligation to attend an interview. Taxpayers should know that an interview is voluntary - most don’t realise this and feel compelled to attend.

As for a penalty, well the Code of Practice 11 states,

“In calculating the amount of the penalty, we will take into account the extent to which you have been helpful…”

But if you answer written questions in full and on time, then it would be reasonable to argue that full co-operation has taken place and no penalty for non-attendance should be levied.

Under no circumstances should anyone attend an interview with HMRC personnel without appropriate representation. HMRC staff are incentivised to maximise the tax take therefore it’s in their interests to skew records of meetings in their favour.