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UK: eBay businesses warned on tax evasion penalties

Monday 8 September 2014 14:07 CET | News

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) warns users who sell items on eBay not to forge business transactions income for lower tax yield than it is required because they risk being charged with criminal activities.

The warning comes against the backdrop of John Woolfenden’s sentence to jail by the local authorities for 2 years for failing to declare income from online sales.

John Woolfenden was convicted at Bolton Crown Court on 2 counts of cheating the public revenue and one count of concealing or transferring criminal property. He evaded paying GBP 299,752 in tax while trading on eBay over 6 years, the court heard.

Andrew Mould, tax partner at Baker Tilly, has informed that using revenues from online sales on ecommerce platforms such as eBay to invest in other business is subject to taxation and private traders are required to state their earnings to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and pay the correct amount of tax.

In 2013, HMRC trialed 915 prosecutions for tax crimes resulting in 716 convictions, more than double the number for 2010.


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Keywords: UK, eBay, business, tax, evasion, penalty, users, online sales, ecommerce, platform, transactions , HMRC
Categories: Payments & Commerce
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Payments & Commerce