After several years of development and at a cost of £100m, HMRC is utilising its latest weapon aimed at reducing the £36billion gap between what tax it should and does collect.

Called “Connect”, HMRC’s powerful system has the ability to draw on information from a number of government and corporate sources to create a profile of each taxpayer’s total income.

Where this varies from the information provided by the taxpayer, the account is flagged and could result in an investigation.

Access to more information

The Connect system software takes data from a variety of sources and platforms; from Airbnb and eBay, to Visa & MasterCard in order analyse trends and patterns of behaviour.

As of September last year, they can also get information from banks and financial organisations in British overseas territories, whilst from the start of this year, it has been able gather this information from more than 60 countries.

These wider powers combined with the Connect software means that your chances of being investigated by HMRC are increasing.

Protect yourself

Your accountancy practice can provide you with a Fee Protection Service to protect you from the costs that may arise as a result of a Tax or VAT investigation from HMRC.

An investigation could cost you money even if you’ve done nothing wrong and Connect can target anyone; a business, a director or an individual tax payer.

Contact your accountant now and they’ll make sure you are given the ultimate protection against an HMRC investigation.