Wigan businessman's £100k tax avoidance shame

Jimshaid Arshad, owner of Belle Green Mini Market in Ince, which has now closed, owes £69,697 in penalty charges after diddling the HM Revenue and Customs out of £99,575.

Other news: Dead flies and dust found on shelves at ‘inadequate’ Wigan nurseryThe former convenience store manager has been included in a list published by the HMRC of people who have “deliberately” avoided paying their full tax bill.

Mr Arshad, who is the only Wigan business owner to appear in the document, was found to have underpaid tax for five years between April 2010 and April 2015.

The HMRC says that it only publishes the names of people who owe tax when they are deemed to be “deliberate tax defaulters”.

A spokesperson said: “Naming an individual or a businesses is bound to have an impact on their reputation and hence their businesses.

“This gives a clear message to them and the general public that if they want to avoid being named they should fulfil their tax obligations.

“People who have deliberately defaulted can avoid having their details published by coming forward and making a full disclosure to HMRC at the outset of the investigation, thereby receiving the maximum possible reduction in penalties for full and early disclosure and assistance.”

The tax authority has defined a “deliberate defaulter” as someone who: Incurs a penalty for an “inaccurate” return or document for a tax period beginning on or after April 1, 2010, fails to comply with certain obligations such as notifying the HMRC of a liability to tax or a VAT or excise wrongdoing that occurred after April 2010.

Deliberate defaulters can be named if it is established that the person has incurred a penalty for a deliberate default and if that default is more than £25,000.

The spokesperson added: “The first condition is a very high hurdle requiring HMRC to have demonstrated that the taxpayer deliberately defaulted on their tax obligations – an offence which carries a maximum penalty of 100 per cent of the tax lost – compared to a maximum penalty of only 30 per cent where the offence was due to careless error.”

Mr Arshad joins the likes of Dan Li, a Chinese online businessman who owes £2.5m in penalty charges and McDouglas Developments Ltd, a Manchester-based company which owes £320,000.

His case has been dealt with as a civil proceeding, meaning that he will not face jail if the tax remains unpaid.