Tag: Treasury

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 22 November 2022.

The Autumn Finance Bill 2022 was published today (22 November 2022), legislating for a key tax changes announced by the Chancellor at last week’s Autumn Statement.

• The Autumn Finance Bill 2022 was published today (22 November 2022), legislating for key tax changes announced at the Autumn Statement last week, including raising and extending the Energy Profits Levy and lowering the additional rate threshold to £125,140.
• The Bill serves as a down payment on the government’s commitment to stabilise the economy through fair policies, where those with the broadest shoulders bear the most burden
• The main Spring Finance Bill 2023 will follow the spring Budget in the usual way, for remaining tax measures needed ahead of April 2023.

Measures in the Bill will see those with the broadest shoulders carry the heaviest burden as the government drives down inflation and restores economic stability following the impact of the pandemic and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Measures include:

• The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) is being extended to help fund cost of living support and ensure oil and gas companies pay their fair share of tax. The rate of tax applied to the profits of oil and gas companies is increasing from 25% to 35% and the sunset clause changing to March 2028 rather than December 2025. This measure also reduces the investment allowance from 80% to 29%, except for investment expenditure on upstream decarbonisation, where it will remain at 80%. This broadly maintains the existing cash value of total tax relief for non-decarbonisation investments.
• The threshold for the additional rate of income tax will be lowered from £150,000 to £125,140, making sure making sure those on the highest incomes contribute the most to strong public finances.
• The Dividend Allowance will be reduced from £2,000 to £1,000 from April 2023 and to £500 from April 2024, and the Capital Gains Tax (CGT) annual exempt amount will be reduced from £12,300 to £6,000 in April 2023, and £3,000 in April 2024. These changes make the tax system fairer by bringing the treatment of unearned income closer in line with that of income earnt by employees.
• Making sure all motorists pay a fairer tax contribution by introducing Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for Electric Vehicles (EVs) from April 2025. This aligns their taxation with that of petrol and diesel vehicles, reflecting their permanent role in the net-zero economy of the future. Alongside this, the government will provide certainty on favourable Company Car Tax rates for electric cars until 2028.
• To ensure the tax system supports strong public finances, income tax thresholds will remain fixed at their current levels until 2028, an extension of two years.
• To help support the public finances in a way that is fair, the current thresholds for inheritance tax will also remain in place until 2028, an extension of two years.
• Research and development (R&D) tax reliefs will be reformed to make sure taxpayers’ money is spent as effectively as possible, including through reducing error and fraud. From 1 April 2023 the Research and Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) rate will be increased to 20% from 13%, the SME deduction rate will be reduced to 86% from 130%, and the Small and Medium Enterprise credit rate decreased to 10% from 14.5%.

The main Spring Finance Bill 2023 will follow the spring Budget in the usual way, for remaining tax measures needed ahead of April 2023.

The Autumn Finance Bill 2022 had its first reading today (Tuesday, 22 November) and will follow the normal legislative path through Parliament.

The press release issued by the Treasury on 22 November 2022.

Selvendran Ramar, 35, from Southampton, has been disqualified as a director for 11 years after he wrongfully obtained a £45,000 Bounce Back Loan in July 2020.

Ramar was sole director of SJSA Ltd, which claimed to provide temporary nursing staff to hospitals, mental health services, care homes and residential homes. It was incorporated on 30 March 2020.

Under the Bounce Back Loan scheme, genuine businesses impacted by the pandemic could take out interest-free taxpayer-backed loans of up to £50,000. However, businesses had to have been trading prior to 1 March 2020 in order to qualify for funding through the scheme, meaning SJSA Ltd was not eligible.

In addition, Ramar overstated the company’s turnover to secure the Bounce Back Loan, confirming the company’s annual turnover was £180,000. In reality, in the first three months of trading the company had received just £5,500 in income.

On receipt of the Bounce Back Loan, Ramar transferred £35,000 to his personal account from the business, and the remaining £10,000 to a family member.

SJSA Ltd went into liquidation in September 2021, which triggered an investigation by the Insolvency Service. At the point of liquidation, the £45,000 Bounce Back Loan was the entirety of SJSA Ltd’s declared liabilities.

The Liquidator has recovered £25,000 of the Bounce Back Loan.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Selvendran Ramar, after he did not dispute that he caused SJSA Ltd to obtain a Bounce Back Loan that it was not entitled to. His ban is effective from 7 December 2022 and lasts for 11 years.

The disqualification undertaking prevents him from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Lawrence Zussman, Deputy Head of Company Investigations at the Insolvency Service, said:

Not only was Selvendran Ramar’s company not trading by the required 1 March 2020 date and therefore not entitled to receive the Bounce Back Loan, but he then tried to divert the funds for his personal use.

Within four days of the company receiving the funds, he transferred £35,000 into his own account and paid the remaining £10,000 to a family member.

The purpose of the Bounce Back Loan scheme was that businesses were meant to utilise the monies specifically for the ‘economic benefit of the business’ which was clearly not the case here.

The press release issued by The Treasury on 21 November 2022.

Michael Hansen, 42, from Hebburn has been disqualified as a director for 10 years after overstating the turnover of his engineering firm to claim a £40,000 Bounce Back Loan to which his business was not entitled.

Hansen was the sole director of MH Property & Engineering Services Limited, which was incorporated in 2019 and traded as a property and engineering firm from Monkton Lane in Hebburn until it went into liquidation in November 2021.

When the company’s turnover decreased during the pandemic, Hansen applied for a Bounce Back Loan to help support his business, stating the company’s turnover to be £160,000.

Bounce Back Loans were a government scheme to help businesses to stay afloat during the Covid pandemic. Companies could apply for a loan of between £2,000 and £50,000, up to a maximum of 25% of their turnover. The money was to be used for the economic benefit of the company, under the rules of the scheme.

MH Property and Engineering Limited struggled to recover the custom it lost during the pandemic and went into liquidation, owing more than £42,000 and triggering an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Investigators discovered that during the company’s first year of trading, up to June 2020, MH Property and Engineering Limited’s turnover was £8,294 and the company had therefore received nearly £38,000 more than it had been entitled to through the Bounce Back Loan scheme.

They also found that around £14,000 had later been withdrawn or paid out of the company’s bank account, followed by a transfer of around £24,600 to Hansen himself between November 2020 and August 2021.

Hansen was unable to show investigators that the money had been used for the economic benefit of the company.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Michael Hansen after he did not dispute that he had overstated the turnover of MH Property and Engineering Services Limited to gain more than £37,900 to which it was not entitled, and had failed to make sure the money was used for the economic benefit of the company.

His disqualification started on 11 November 2022 and lasts for 10 years. The ban prevents Hansen from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Mike Smith, Chief Investigator of the Insolvency Service said,

Covid Support Schemes were a lifeline to businesses across the UK protecting jobs and preserving businesses.

We will not hesitate to take action against directors who have abused Covid-19 financial support like this, and Hansen’s lengthy ban should serve as a warning to others.

Notes To Editors

Michael Hansen is of Hebburn and his date of birth is November 1980.

MH Property and Engineering Limited company number 12061331.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 21 November 2022.

David Okot from Deptford, South-East London, received an 11-year disqualification, while Southsea’s Jason Meads has been banned for 10 years.

The retailers are now prevented from directly, or indirectly, becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

David Ocaya Okot (40) was sole director of B&S News Ltd, which traded as a newsagent and convenience shop, B&S Newsagents, on Manor Lane in Lewisham, London.

David Okot purchased the shop in 2014 and ran it successfully until 2020 when increased competition in the area and rising costs meant that the business was no longer viable. The shop closed in January 2020 after failing to find a buyer.

Investigators, however, uncovered that David Okot successfully applied for a £50,000 Bounce Back Loan for B&S News Ltd in July 2020, despite being ineligible as the government-backed loan was only available for businesses trading during pandemic. This was after the company had stopped trading.

Further enquiries found that David Okot caused B&S News Ltd to transfer close to £50,000 from the company bank account into his personal account. The former convenience store owner said he was looking to relocate the business with the money but investigators found no evidence to support this claim.

And Jason Meads, from Southsea, Portsmouth, was the sole director of Hodl Clothing Limited. The company was incorporated in April 2018 and operated as an online clothing retailer.

The company, however, went into liquidation in October 2021 before the Insolvency Service uncovered Jason Meads had received government loans Hodl Clothing Limited wasn’t entitled to.

Investigators discovered that Hodl Clothing Limited applied for 2 Bounce Back Loans and received £37,500 after Jason Meads falsely claimed turnover was £150,000 when turnover was £0.

Further enquiries uncovered that Jason Meads transferred more than £36,000 from the Bounce Back Loan to a personal account but could not provide any evidence that the funds were used for the economic benefit of Hodl Clothing Limited.

Tom Phillips, Assistant Director at the Insolvency Service, said:

Bounce Back Loans were offered to financially support viable businesses through the pandemic. The directors of these two retail companies have abused the Bounce Back Loans support scheme. David Okot applied for a loan despite having closed down his business before the pandemic, while Jason Meads used vastly exaggerated turnover figures to obtain more funding than his company would otherwise have been entitled to.

Thanks to the work of our diligent investigators, we have removed these rogue directors from the corporate arena. Both David Okot and Jason Meads have received top-bracket disqualifications, which should serve as a stark warning to other directors that there are serious consequences to those who have abused Bounce Back Loans.

Notes to editors

David Okot

David Ocaya Okot is from Deptford and his date of birth is May 1972.

B&S News Ltd (Company number 09141191).

On 31 October 2022, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from David Ocaya Okot for 11 years, after he did not dispute that B&S News Ltd obtained a Bounce Back Loan and failed to used it in its entirety for the economic benefit of the company. Nor did B&S News Ltd did not meet the criteria to apply for the loan.

Jason Meads

Jason Richard Meads is from Southsea and his date of birth is March 1989

Hodl Clothing Limited (Company number 11314684)

On 10 October 2022, the Secretary of State accepted a disqualification undertaking from Jason Richard Meads, after he did not dispute that he caused the Company to apply for 2 BBLs totalling £37,500 using overstated turnover figures in the application form and consequently Hodl received £37,500 more monies that it was entitled to from the BBL scheme. Furthermore, he did not dispute that he failed to ensure that the BBL funds were used for the economic benefit of the Company. Mr Mead’s ban is effective from 31 October 2022 and lasts for 10 years.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 17 November 2022.

• Chancellor unveils a plan for stability, growth, and public services.
• Tackling inflation is top of the priority list to stop it eating into paycheques and savings, and disrupting business growth plans.
• To protect the most vulnerable the Chancellor unveiled £26 billion of support for the cost of living including continued energy support, as well as 10.1% rises in benefits and the State Pension and the largest ever cash increase in the National Living Wage.
• Necessary and fair tax changes will raise around £25 billion, including an increase in the Energy Profits Levy and a new tax on the extraordinary profits of electricity generators.
• Decisions on spending set to save £30 billion whilst NHS and Social Care get access to £8 billion and schools get an additional £2.3 billion reflecting people’s priorities. -To deliver prosperity, he’s also committed to infrastructure projects including Sizewell C and Northern Powerhouse Rail, along with protecting the £20 billion R&D budget.

Jeremy Hunt outlined a targeted package of support for the most vulnerable, alongside measures to get debt and government borrowing down. The plan he set out is designed to fight inflation in the face of unprecedented global pressures brought about by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said:

There is a global energy crisis, a global inflation crisis and a global economic crisis. But today with this plan for stability, growth and public services, we will face into the storm. We do so today with British resilience and British compassion.

Because of the difficult decisions we take in our plan, we strengthen our public finances, bring down inflation and protect jobs.

To protect the most vulnerable from the worst of cost-of-living pressures, the Chancellor announced a package of targeted support worth £26 billion, which includes continued support for rising energy bills. More than eight million households on means-tested benefits will receive a cost-of-living payment of £900 in instalments, with £300 to pensioners and £150 for people on disability benefits.

The Energy Price Guarantee, which is protecting households throughout this winter by capping typical energy bills at £2,500, will continue to provide support from April 2023 with the cap rising to £3,000. With prices forecast to remain elevated throughout next year, this equates to an average of £500 support for households in 2023-24.

Working age benefits will rise by 10.1%, boosting the finances of millions of the poorest people in the UK, and the Triple Lock will be protected, meaning pensioners will also get a rise in the State Pension and the Pension Credit in line with inflation.

The National Living Wage will be increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour, giving a full-time worker a pay rise of over £1,600 a year, benefitting 2 million of the lowest paid workers.

The Chancellor also announced a £13.6 billion package of support for business rates payers in England. To protect businesses from rising inflation the multiplier will be frozen in 2023-24 while relief for 230,000 businesses in retail, hospitality and leisure sectors was also increased from 50% to 75% next year.

To help businesses adjust to the revaluation of their properties, which takes effect from April 2023, the Chancellor announced a £1.6 billion Transitional Relief scheme to cap bill increases for those who will see higher bills. This limits bill increases for the smallest properties to 5%. Businesses seeing lower bills as a result of the revaluation will benefit from that decrease in full straight away, as the Chancellor abolished downwards transitional reliefs caps. Small businesses who lose eligibility for either Small Business or Rural Rate Relief as a result of the new property revaluations will see their bill increases capped at £50 a month through a new separate scheme worth over £500 million.

To protect high-quality front-line public services, access to funding for the NHS and social care is being increased by up to £8 billion in 2024-25. This will enable the NHS to take action to improve access to urgent and emergency care, get waiting times down, and will mean double the number of people can be released from hospital into care every day from 2024. The schools budget will receive £2.3 billion of additional funding in each of 2023-24 and 2024-25, enabling continued investment in high quality teaching and tutoring and restoring 2010 levels of per pupil funding in real terms.

All other departments will have their Spending Review settlements to 2024-25 honoured in full, with no cash cuts, but will be expected to work more efficiently to live within these and support the government’s mission of fiscal discipline. To improve public finances, from 2025-26 onwards day to day spending will increase more slowly by 1% above inflation, with capital spending maintained at current levels in cash terms. This means departmental spending will still be £90 billion higher in real terms by 2027-28, compared with 2019-20 while £30 billion of public spending will be saved.

To raise further funds, the Chancellor has introduced tax rises of £25 billion by 2027-28. Based around the principle of fairness, all taxpayers will be asked to contribute but those with the broadest shoulders will be asked to contribute a greater share.

The threshold at which higher earners start to pay the 45p rate will be reduced from £150,000 to £125,140, while Income Tax, Inheritance Tax and National Insurance thresholds will be frozen for a further two years until April 2028. The Dividend Allowance will be reduced from £2,000 to £1,000 next year, and £500 from April 2024 and the Annual Exempt Amount in capital gains tax will be reduced from £12,300 to £6,000 next year and then to £3,000 from April 2024.

The most profitable businesses with the broadest shoulders will also be asked to bear more of the burden. The threshold for employer National Insurance contributions will be fixed until April 2028, but the Employment Allowance will continue to protect 40% of businesses from paying any NICS at all.

In addition, the government is implementing the reforms developed by the OECD and agreed internationally to ensure multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax. And as confirmed last month, the main rate of Corporation Tax will increase to 25% from April 2023.

To ensure businesses making extraordinary profits as a result of high energy prices also pay their fair share, from 1 January 2023 the Energy Profits Levy on oil and gas companies will increase from 25% to 35%, with the levy remaining in place until the end of March 2028, and a new, temporary 45% levy will be introduced for electricity generators. Together these measures will raise over £55 billion from this year until 2027-28.

To ensure fiscal discipline while providing support for the most vulnerable, the Chancellor has introduced two new fiscal rules, that the UK’s national debt must fall as a share of GDP by the fifth year of a rolling five-year period, and that public sector borrowing in the same year must be below 3% of GDP. Overall, the Autumn Statement improves public finances by £55 billion by 2027-28, and the OBR forecasts both of these rules to be met a year early in 2026-27.

To ensure prosperity in the future, the Chancellor recommitted to the £20 billion R&D budget and made numerous infrastructure commitments. Sizewell C nuclear plant will go ahead, with the EDF contract to be signed at the end of the month, providing reliable, low-carbon power to the equivalent of 6 million homes for over 50 years.

The Chancellor also confirmed commitments to transformative growth plans for our railways including High Speed 2 to Manchester, the Northern Powerhouse Rail core network and East West Rail, along with gigabit broadband rollout.

Plans for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund were confirmed, with at least £1.7 billion to be allocated to priority local infrastructure projects around the UK before the end of the year. In further efforts to level up the UK, a new Mayor will be elected in Suffolk as part of a devolution deal agreed with Suffolk County Council, and the government is in advanced discussions on mayoral devolution deals with local authorities in Cornwall, Norfolk and the North East of England.

Many of today’s tax and spending decisions apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. As a result of decisions that do not apply UK-wide, the Scottish Government will receive around an additional £1.5 billion over 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Welsh Government will receive £1.2 billion and the Northern Ireland Executive will receive £650 million.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 17 November 2022.

The shift to Electric Vehicles is continuing at pace as the UK moves to net zero.    Therefore from 2025, road tax will be introduced for EVs so all motorists begin to pay a fair share.   Support for charging infrastructure is continuing.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 November 2022.

More than 401,300 families benefitted from £44.4 million in government funding towards childcare costs in September 2022, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed.

Compared to September 2021, the latest Tax-Free Childcare statistics show the number of families who are using Tax-Free Childcare has increased by 85,475. But thousands of families are still missing out on the top-up which could save them up to £2,000 a year per child towards the cost of their childcare.

Tax-Free Childcare provides working families, earning up to £100,000 a year, with financial help towards childcare. For every £8 paid into a Tax-Free Childcare online account, families will automatically receive an additional £2 from the government. This means they can receive up to £500 every three months (£2,000 a year), or £1,000 (£4,000 a year) if their child is disabled.

The top up payments can be used to pay for any approved childcare for children aged 11 or under, or up to 17 if the child has a disability whether your child goes to nursery, a child minder, has term-time wraparound care or goes to a holiday club.

Myrtle Lloyd, HMRC’s Director General for Customer Services, said:

We know childcare can be expensive so using Tax-Free Childcare can make a huge difference to household finances. To find out more, search ‘Tax-Free Childcare’ on GOV.UK.

Families could be eligible for Tax-Free Childcare if they:

• have a child or children aged 11 or under. They stop being eligible on 1 September after their 11th birthday. If their child has a disability, they may get up to £4,000 a year until they are 17
• earn, or expect to earn, at least the National Minimum Wage or Living Wage for 16 hours a week, on average
• each earn no more than £100,000 per annum
• do not receive tax credits, Universal Credit or childcare vouchers

A full list of the eligibility criteria is available on GOV.UK.

Opening an online Tax-Free Childcare account is straightforward and can take around 20 minutes to sign up. Accounts can be opened at any time, money can be deposited and used straight away or when it’s needed. Unused money in the account can be withdrawn at any time. Go to GOV.UK to register to get started.

The government has launched an awareness raising advertising campaign to ensure families get the childcare support they are entitled to. Visit Childcare Choices to learn about the options and find out the best childcare offer for families.

The government is offering help for households. Check GOV.UK to find out what cost of living support, including help with childcare costs, families could be eligible for.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 16 November 2022.

Ben Hamilton, 34, from Middlesbrough, has been sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, after being convicted under the Companies Act following abuse of the Bounce Back Loan financial support scheme in 2020.

Hamilton was director of Netelco Ltd, a telecommunications design and installation business based in Bishop Auckland.

The company had been incorporated in 2018 and in May 2020 Hamilton applied for a £25,000 Bounce Back Loan from his bank on behalf of his business. Under the Bounce Back Loan scheme, genuine businesses impacted by the pandemic could take out interest-free taxpayer-backed loans of up to £50,000.

The loan was paid into the company bank account on 14 May 2020 and the following day Hamilton filed paperwork with Companies House to have the business dissolved.

The striking-off application to dissolve the company was explicit that interested parties and creditors, such as a bank with an outstanding loan, must be notified within seven days of making an application to dissolve a company. The form also highlighted that failure to notify interested parties is a criminal offence, however Hamilton did not follow these rules.

The company was dissolved in December 2020, and was subsequently identified as likely Bounce Back Loan fraud as part of the government’s forensic counter-fraud work.

Hamilton did not co-operate with the Insolvency Service criminal investigation team, nor attend an interview when given the opportunity. Only when the Insolvency Service obtained a Proceeds of Crime Act restraining order on his bank accounts did he engage with the investigation, at which point he repaid the Bounce Back Loan in full.

He pleaded guilty to charges under the Companies Act 2006 at Teeside Magistrate’s Court on 14 October. He was sentenced on 15 November at Teeside Magistrate’s Court.

In addition to the suspended sentence, Hamilton was ordered to pay £2,500 in costs.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service said:

This was a clear case of attempted fraud by a company director who thought he could abuse the Covid-19 financial support schemes and get away with it.

Even though Ben Hamilton has now repaid the loan, this sentence sends a clear warning to others that attempting to defraud taxpayers is not acceptable, and when prosecuting the Insolvency Service will use all of the tools in its armoury, including the Proceeds of Crime Act, to prevent criminals from retaining their benefit from crime”.

Ben Hamilton is of Middlesbrough and his date of birth is August 1988.

Netelco Ltd (company reg no. 11266825).

The sentence result was announced at Teeside Magistrate’s Court by judge Recorder Anthony Hawks.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 15 November 2022.

Philip John Mottram, 55, from Sheffield, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates Court on 10 November 2022 where he was sentenced before District Judge Redhouse to a 12-month Community Order requiring 80 hours of unpaid work in the community and up to 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He also had to pay costs of £2,000 and Victim Surcharge of £60.

The court heard that Mottram was the sole director of Urbandeli Ltd, which traded as a café called Urban Deli on Campo Lane in Sheffield, until the business went into liquidation in March 2017.

But liquidators discovered that Mottram had been banned as a director for a year in April 2016, after a case had been brought against him by Companies House for failing to provide a copy of the company accounts.

Disqualified directors are banned from forming, managing or promoting companies for the duration of their ban. People who breach the terms of the disqualification are committing a criminal offence and could be fined and/or go to prison for up to 2 years.

Mottram also ignored requests by Urbandeli’s liquidators to hand over company books and records – a legal requirement during a company’s liquidation.

The liquidators shared their findings with the Insolvency Service, which triggered an investigation. But Mottram failed to answer investigators’ questions about his role in the company while he was banned as a director.

Following the investigation Mottram was charged with four separate offences, but twice failed to turn up to court hearings, which led to his arrest.

He previously pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates Court to failing to hand over company books to liquidators, and to being in charge of a company during his one-year ban as a director.

Julie Barnes, Chief Investigator at the Insolvency Service, said:

Philip Mottram had scant regard for his disqualification as a company director, didn’t cooperate with investigators and showed little respect for the courts.

This type of criminality has a huge impact on the confidence of the UK Business community. Mottram’s sentencing will be a warning to others that the Insolvency Service is committed to bringing lawbreakers to justice.

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 15 November 2022.

Liam Mccreadie, 26, from Aberdeen, has been disqualified as a director for 4 years after failing to pay more than £1.1 million in taxes and not submitting tax returns for his two companies.

Mccreadie was the sole director of two companies that both traded as a call centre business.

Lakemere Global Holdings Ltd, was incorporated in October 2017 and traded as AGO Outsourcing in both East Kilbride and Newcastle until it went into liquidation in October 2019, owing more than £794,000.

His other company, EK Sales Ltd, was incorporated in September 2017 – just a month before Lakemere went into liquidation – and took over trading as AGO Outsourcing until it also went into liquidation in October 2020, with debts of more than £515,000.

The call centre sites had been billed by AGO Outsourcing managers as “state of the art” sales centres, but had reportedly become subject to disputes with staff over payment of wages by October 2019.

The liquidation of the two companies led to an investigation by the Insolvency Service which found that Lakemere Global Holdings Ltd had not submitted tax returns between May and October 2019 and owed business and employee-related tax of around £629,000.

Investigators also discovered that EK Sales Ltd had failed to submit tax returns between December 2019 and August 2020 and owed business and employee-related tax of around £513,000.

Across both companies, the repeat abuse of tax led to a debt to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of more than £1,143,000.

The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy accepted a disqualification undertaking from Liam Mccreadie, after he didn’t dispute that he had failed to ensure that both Lakemere Global Holdings Ltd and EK Sales Ltd submitted returns and payment to HMRC, and caused the companies to trade to the detriment of HMRC in respect of business and employee-related tax.

His disqualification starts on 7 November 2022 and lasts for 4 years. The ban prevents Mccreadie from directly or indirectly becoming involved in the promotion, formation or management of a company, without the permission of the court.

Steven McGinty, Investigation Manager at the Insolvency Service, said

“The Insolvency Service will rigorously pursue traders who seek an unfair advantage over their competitors by not paying tax to the Government.

“If you run a limited company, you have statutory protections as well as obligations. If you fail to comply with your obligations, The Insolvency Service will investigate you and you could lose the protection of limited liability.

“Mr McCreadie has paid the price for failing to do that, as he cannot now carry on in business other than at his own risk.”