Tax - Mostly compliance Flashcards
What is tax compliance?
Willingness of individuals and other taxable entities to act in accordance with the spirit as well as the letter of the law
Tax avoidance
Legal but on a scale between tax planning and evasion. “aggressive” measures may contravene the “spirit” of the law
What is the tax gap?
Difference between the amount of tax that should be collected against what is actually collected.
Tax gap stats
Gap was 4.8% (a record low) 21-22. (35.8 Bil)
Long term reduction in tax gap
Analysis of tax gap - 3 methods
Tax type
Taxpayer groups
Behaviour type
Tax type analysis stats
Corporation Tax second largest component of tax gap at 30%
Income tax, NICs and CGT make up 35%
2021-22
Tax gap by group stats
Small businesses represent largest proportion (56% - £20.2 Bil) 2021-22
Most common cause for the Tax Gap
Failure to take reasonable care is the largest proportion at 30% in 21-22 increased from 24 in 19-20
Economic model of compliance
Allingham & Sandmo.
Predicts relatively low level of compliance as probability of getting caught likely to be small in practice.
Behavioural models of compliance
Psychology, Sociology,
Non-economic factors compliance decisions:
- Tax knowledge
- Perceived opportunity to evade
- Mental accounting
- Fairness perceptions
Kirchler 2007 characteristics affecting compliance
- Attitudes: Beliefs and evaluations
- Motivation to comply (Gender, age, education levels, income and wealth levels)OECD 2024
- Norms: personal norms and societal norms and identity
Objectives of HMRC (5)
- Collect right tax and pay out right financial support
- Make easy to get right and hard to bend or break the rules
- Maintain taxpayers consent through fair treatment and protect society from harm
- make HMRC a great place to work
- Support wider government economic aims through a resilient
3 Key decisions from HMRC’s strategic objectives
- Focus on customers
- Promote compliance and prevent non-compliance
- Reduce likelihood of disputes
Domicile
Country where an individual has their main home
- only one at a time
- usually given at birth, from father
Individual is UK resident if…
- Do not meet an automatic non-UK res test AND
- Meet one or more of auto UK res test OR
- Meet one or more of sufficient ties test and have been in UK for sufficient length of time