A criminal offence known as the Corporate Criminal Offence (CCO) was introduced in September 2017 to combat the facilitation of tax evasion.
Since there was no appropriate corporate criminal offence for which they could be charged, HM Revenue and Customs have been unable to hold relevant bodies, ranging from small partnerships to multinational companies, accountable for their representatives facilitating tax evasion.
Using this offence; the difficulties of attributing criminal offences to an organisation whose employees or associates facilitate tax evasion will be overcome.
Regardless of whether the tax evaded is owed in Britain or in an overseas jurisdiction, if the business has a UK connection, the offence will apply to all companies and partnerships.
The purpose of the Corporate Criminal Offence is to hold relevant bodies accountable. Therefore, it is important that sufficient awareness of the legislation and a commitment to preventing tax evasion is demonstrated.
Training is a fundamental aspect of any CCO policy.
DSW Tax Advisory has created a specialist training platform for businesses. It provides guidance and an overview of what is required as a foundation for a strong defence against the CCO. Our courses also allow you to demonstrate that appropriate policies and procedures are in place for your business.
Our Training Platform
The platform is divided into two levels. A senior management level and a level for all other relevant staff, be they directly employed or acting as representatives of the organisation.
Each training course is designed to provide pertinent knowledge and understanding at the appropriate level.
The senior management level provides more details about the legislation itself, including the commitment expected from them, as well as highlighting the consequences for the organisation should they commit an offence.
Other staff members and representatives do not need to know finer details about the legislation. They instead learn about tax evasion through examples and two case studies that help them to apply the Corporate Criminal Offence to real-life situations.
Bespoke Corporate Criminal Offence training for your organisation.
Upon your request, we can tailor a training programme specifically for your company’s needs.
Please contact Andrew Robinson directly and he will be happy to help.