Who are HM Revenue & Customs ("HMRC")? Why do they exist?

HM Revenue & Customs, formerly HM Inland Revenue and HM Customs & Excise, perform one of the most critical functions in the UK without which the country could not function.

They collect taxes on behalf of the Treasury i.e. VAT, PAYE/NI, Corporation Tax, Self-assessment Tax, Landfill Tax, import duty etc amongst other taxes.

What is the UK Tax Agent service?

This is a service that assists Sole Traders, Partnerships, Limited Companies and Trusts who are struggling to pay their Tax Bills to HMRC. This includes Self Assessment, VAT, PAYE/NI Contributions, Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax. We also work with Professional Introducers who may wish to offer our services to their clients.

Are you lenders or accountants?

We are neither Lenders or Accountants. Our Tax Team work very closely with HMRC and have developed a nationwide relationship with them. In essence our prime function is not to lend money, thereby increasing our client's indebtedness, but to construct Tax Payment Plans for our clients which are sustainable and will allow them to trade out of their present predicament.

How does it Work?

Our professional Tax Team negotiate with HMRC to arrange for payments to be made by affordable monthly instalments often over a protracted period that is usually longer than could be achieved by other methods.

The client receives a free, no obligation consultation with a top level advisor who will take full consideration of other creditor commitments and put forward precise recommendations.

Why would people want this service?

There are literally hundreds of thousands of business and companies struggling to raise sufficient funds to pay their Tax Bills whilst servicing other essential creditor commitments. It is difficult to raise funds from banks or remortgaging assets, and if there are personal guarantee's outstanding, then closing a business is often not an option.

Failure to repay Tax Debts owed to HMRC will ultimately end up in a 'Winding up Petition' or 'Bankruptcy'. Working with Express Tax Solutions could possibly avoid this.

Is there a big market for this service?

Yes. As of March 2006, the total outstanding debt was recorded at £22bn with £3.9 billion of tax credits overpayments remained to be collected by HMRC at March 2007. This figure is only going to increase with the many businesses experiencing a downturn over the last year thus finding that they are unable to meet their Tax liabilities.

What is Unique about this service?

Our trained advisors have taken several years to learn the basis of managing Tax liabilities, they have utilised HMRC own training manuals to produce a comprehensive fact find that ensures they deal with your unpaid tax in a professional and factual manner. A comprehensive financial plan is drawn up and with HMRC approval all payments are made via the Tax Team who will continue to monitor the arrangement with regular 3 monthly reviews to accommodate changing circumstances. The plan might also incorporate arrangements which might have been made with other creditors in constructing a viable solution.

Will there be a black mark on thier name?

No, this is a private and confidential arrangement between HMRC and the client, we do not credit score or apply for references, nor do we leave footprints or make public information.

Is this product FSA regulated?

No, this is a non regulated service.

Why can't I or my accountant achieve the same thing?

Without a doubt both you and your accountant will be able to agree a time to pay arrangement with HMRC. However, your result may not necessarily achieve the ultimate purpose of the assignment which is to ensure that the arrangement is realistic and deliverable which is where we excel.

We introduce a level of independency which gives you what is often a much needed second opinion and ultimately greater confidence in the proposals submitted to HMRC.

From a HMRC perspective, that independency creates important objectivity for them in assessing the quality and merits of the case being presented to them.

It is essential for the agreement to be adhered to whilst meeting all of your other ongoing commitments such as wages, supplier payments, loan repayments and ongoing VAT and PAYE/NI obligations.

HMRC have a difficult job to do and they will rightly pressurise businesses in default to settle any arrears as quickly as possible. Therefore, there is a real danger that you may agree to an unrealistic plan which could place your business in further jeopardy.

The moral is... leave it to the experts.

What about further bills?

As part of the service our tax team will monitor the plan and carry out periodic reviews to take account of future changing circumstances and additional liabilities being incurred by the client, making necessary adjustments to the plan where appropriate.

What happens if my client cannot meet their monthly commitment in any one particular month?

As previously stated, the circumstances of the client may well change and subsequent modifications to a payment plan may have to be negotiated.

What is the minimum and maximum tax debt that you would look to consider?

Our minimum Tax Debt that we would look to consider is £500. There is no maximum.

Can you help with longstanding tax debt?

Yes. We can look to assist Sole Traders, Partnerships, Limited Companies and Trusts who are facing Bankruptcy, Winding Up Petitions and those with Frozen Bank Accounts.

I have been served a Petition by HMRC to wind my business up, my account is frozen, can you still help?

Yes we can look to assist you, please contact us

Are there many people doing this?

As far as we are aware this is a unique proposition. There are organisations such as Debt Management companies that sometimes include HMRC debt within their debt management plans but generally such services are geared to non priority debt which precludes non priority creditors such as HMRC. There are other organisations, generally linked to Insolvency Practitioners who do undertake initiatives with regards to HMRC debt but once again, constructing full financial time to pay plans is not generally what they are about and one must question the motives of the I.P. involvement.

This is by no means an exhaustive list but hopefully it will have provided you with an insight to this very unique opportunity which both you and your clients can take benefit from. We are sure there will be many other questions you might wish to ask and we will be delighted to deal with those on an individual basis by contacting us at the telephone number or e-mail address given below.

Is this work and the outcome agreed with HMRC confidential?

Yes, it is not disclosed in any public records and is strictly confidential between you and HMRC.

My business is unique/complex - How can you quickly gain a proficient understanding to best represent my business?

Because we are experts at crisis management and implementing turnaround solutions.

Our team has constructed many  time to pay arrangements and advises businesses who are experiencing financial difficulties each year.

As such, we don't believe we are overstating it when we say that we've encountered virtually all industry sectors and facing a wide range of issues threatening their survival.

Yes, we agree each business will have their own unique features, however, the causes of trading and ultimately cashflow difficulties are invariably very similar. These can include:

the unexpected loss of key staff or customers;

bad or slow moving debtors;

strong competition;

loss of operational efficiencies; and

rapid growth followed by overtrading.

In the current economic climate many extreme external factors are impacting heavily on business and the need for careful management is vital to survival.

We can quite accurately gauge your business difficulties and advise on a solution within a couple of hours.

How long have I got? What are the timescales involved?

We will not normally make any contact with HMRC until we've had, at least, a first meeting to understand the financial position and make an initial assessment.

We will then normally contact HMRC to agree a reporting timetable to undertake our detailed review. This will take place after we have agreed a letter of engagement. The length of this reporting timetable will depend on your compliance record and size of the tax arrears and could be anything between 3 - 14 days or longer in certain circumstances.

As you can imagine, the time pressures will be intense and if your management information is not up to date then we (i.e. you, your accountant and Express Tax Solutions) will have an extremely busy few days to formulate a realistic plan.

Upon receipt of the proposals, HMRC could respond on the same day or they could take a further week or two to consider the proposals. Invariably, this is when the negotiation phase starts.

It is worth noting that no two negotiations (or indeed time to pay proposals) are alike and this is where our experience will come into its own.

What happens if you conclude my business is not viable?

Our primary function is to provide you with the best advice possible.

If we conclude that your business is not viable then we would be doing you a major disservice if we persevered with HMRC and reached an agreement if there was little or no prospect of keeping to the plan.

In these situations, there may be serious ramifications for directors in the event of wrongful or, worse still, fraudulent trading as the position of the general body of creditors would invariably deteriorate.

As a strict rule, we will not support any proposal to HMRC in these circumstances as it would undermine our credibility for future clients and arrangements but more importantly, it does not provide you with the best advice.

If you have any concerns in this respect, please call us as soon as possible.