How to Best Posts in Thread: Send money FROM Philippines to UK

In those circumstances people are correct to use professionals - also they have ways to deal with the tax authorities that we do not possess. But if you do a money swap (the subject of the original posting) then you could be in for expensive accountancy fees just to prove you are innocent.

I ran a business picked at random by the IR - cost me the equivalent today of about £2000 in accountancy fees to prove everything was in line with tax laws and tax payments (the IR even wanted details on where £40 came from 3 years ago! - that was when they were getting desperate). They failed at every attempt to prove anything negative - eventually sent in the VAT officer and then other departments. I couldn't get why they persisted - my accountant explained it was because the Tax Inspector who started the investigation of my business could not go to her boss and tell him she recovered no owed taxes to cover the costs of the investigation. So this went on for over a year - then that lady left the office for another job. I was in the accountant's office when he picked up the phone to the new Tax Inspector and pointed out that this investigation was over a year long and had found no evidence of anything wrong - that Tax Inspector told him they would now close it. Had the original Tax Inspector continued they next would have been ripping up my floor boards and digging up my garden (now, that would have made sense! ) but the new one had no reason to keep going.

They did not care about my costs and they were not recoverable from them (that is how the law fixes it). Fortunately I had membership of a business association where insurance cover was included - they paid my entire accountancy fees. That business association employed ex tax inspectors and they often printed details of how they were trained and, of course, it was to go for the seemingly weak and hope they give in. My accountant told me that some of his clients chose to pay (what they said were unwarranted) tax claims from the IR as it was cheaper than disputing them. My personality is such that I told my accountant "no way".

So anyone who helps a friend with a money swap and perhaps gets involved with the tax authorities could be in for a big set of fees. A friend of a family member was investigated as the IR said his tax declarations did not show sufficient income to live on - he contested it with details of the simplicity of his life (no wine or women I suppose) and they accepted it. The very next tax year and they investigated him again.