LinkedIn was useful source in identifying tax evasion
We all know that we should exercise care when using social media sites in case what we say or the information we share has legal ramifications.
Information distributed via the ether is available for all to see, including tax authorities! This was a harsh lesson learned by a man who was recently presented with a 5 million kronor, equivalent to £494,000, fine by the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) after it was revealed that he had posted details of a job on his LinkedIn profile which he had not told the tax authorities about.
The Swedish gentleman, who is a resident of a posh Stockholm suburb, had included information about a biomass products company, registered in the British Virgin Isles, that he had worked for since 2004.
An anonymous letter claimed that the unnamed man had been in receipt of the non-declared income and had documentation to support their allegations. This sparked the Tax Agency to conduct a review of the man's affairs in conjunction with the Swedish police financial crimes division.
Upon examination of bank accounts held by the man and his wife, it was discovered that deposits from wire payments from several foreign companies had been made since 2007. Furthermore, the company had also financed a silver Porsche 996 Turbo.
The tax arrears stretched back to 2008 amounting to one million kronor per year.
Whilst this incident occurred in Scandinavia it could quite easily happen in this country as HMRC also trawl the internet in search of potential tax offenders. The message is therefore be truthful when using professional networking sites because Big Brother really is watching you!
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