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The taxman is now using Google to check on you

Tax inspectors are increasingly turning to Google Street View as a monitoring tool to catch suspected tax evaders, according to a survey of recent cases by the leading accountancy firms.

Most Street view images are over two years old

Most Street view images are over two years old

HMRC has been using Google to try to prove people have undeclared income. The company’s Street View provides a kerbside view of individuals’ homes and businesses, giving inspectors a quick way to assess a person’s lifestyle and see whether it matches declared income.

In one case, it was revealed that Street View was being used to provide clues as to whether a family was using a private school, thanks to the practice of advertising school fêtes on signs in parents’ gardens. In others they have looked for home improvements or expensive cars parked in the driveway as clues to earning levels.

Roy Maugham, UHY Hacker Young tax partner, said: “HMRC believe there’s a big discrepancy between what people are earning and what they are declaring, which is driving their massive push to recoup some of the loss. They are using every possible bit of information that the internet is making available, and Google Street View is being seized on as a quick and cheap alternative to visiting someone’s home”.

An HMRC spokesperson claimed that Street View only played a “small part” in its investigations into finding tax evaders: “We use Google Earth occasionally when an enquiry is already well under way to check very basic lifestyle factors. It has only very limited application and interest for us and is very much a secondary low level tool. Our investigations have a greater focus in looking at an individual’s bank account, employment history and the value of their property,” he said.

The spokesperson added: “The computer system brings together unprecedented volumes of data, which our tax specialists and analysts are constantly evaluating for evidence of evasion, to identify those who are determined to cheat the UK of vital tax revenue. The vast majority of people and businesses play by the rules and on their behalf we are coming down hard on the cheats.” He also revealed that the information collated is being stored on HMRC’s super-computer Connect.

However Maugham warned that there are limitations to relying on the information Street View provides: “Out-dated evidence could lead to HMRC making serious misassumptions about undeclared income, which innocent tax payers will then have to dispute.”

Most accountants are not surprised at the Street View revelation. The consensus being that all that has changed is that in the digital world, the old information plus much more is now available at the desktop without diligent local tax inspectors feeling the need to drive past taxpayers’ homes and see what sort of house they might have sustained on modest earnings. And as I’ve blogged in the past, HMRC has been monitoring suspected tax evaders’ social networking feeds to glean further information about their lifestyles.

It’s very easy on Twitter to set up a standard search where you can set up a separate column and you can use Google alerts. If they’ve already got a question mark next to somebody’s name, they can then have a look and see if they’ve got a Facebook page, and then their LinkedIn profile, to see if there are any clues.

HMRC seemingly ever more desperate attempts to obtain information was highlighted in June during Wimbledon fortnight, when HMRC investigation teams, following a check on the area using Google Street View, then knocked door-to-door to ascertain whether homes have been rented out or are being used as unofficial boarding houses.

So you have been warned!

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David Jones is the Senior Partner and Founder of Morgan Jones & Company. Born in Liverpool and an Accountancy graduate of the University of Wolverhampton, David spent twenty years working for the Customs & Excise in London then Shrewsbury before starting his own business. David’s depth of knowledge of the UK tax system and his ability to communicate this learning has seen Morgan Jones & Company grow into Shropshire’s most respected Accountancy Practice. Email David