It has been reported today that one of the recruitment industry’s leading support companies, Anderson Group, is promoting an “aggressive” tax avoidance scheme. The BBC, which uncovered the scheme, has said that it works by exploiting the government's Employment Allowance and could deprive the Treasury of tens of millions of pounds of National Insurance payments.
In response, Anderson Group said that they are entirely compliant with UK tax laws, commenting that it is "totally incorrect" to say that Anderson Group is promoting the scheme and says it is a product being offered by one of its clients.
The Employment Allowance which came into action in 2014 is aimed at encouraging small businesses to employ more staff by allowing them to claim £2,000 off their annual employers' National Insurance bill
Sales manager, Ian Moran who visited a recruitment agency to promote the scheme, was secretly recorded admitting the Employment Allowance was being misused.
Richard Murphy, a tax expert and financial reform campaigner has suggested that the promoters are hoping that by the time HMRC get around to them there won’t be any money to collect. Mr Murphy said: "What they'll say is: well, there's no money in any of these companies, they're all empty shells, therefore, you can sue us, you can put us in to liquidation, but they'll be nothing for you to have.”
