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We offer a dedicated team of experienced individuals with a focus on successfully executing transactions for corporates and financial institutions. We offer an integrated approach, with our corporate finance specialists working seamlessly with tax and other specialists to ensure that every angle is covered.
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Economic Advisory
Our all-island Economics Advisory team combines expertise in economics and business with a wealth of experience across the public and private sectors.
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Forensic Accounting
We have a different way of doing business by delivering real insight through a combination of technical rigour, commercial experience and intuitive judgment. We take pride in delivering responsive and tailored solutions to all our clients, capitalising on the wealth of experience housed within our Belfast and wider Forensics team
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The Grant Thornton People & Change Consulting practice works with clients on these issues as well as on all aspects of how they attract, retain, engage develop, deploy and lead their people.
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Technology Consulting
Motivating and assisting our clients to pursue, maintain and secure the benefits of digital solutions is at the core of our Digital Transformation teams' agenda and goals. We work with business leaders to deliver efficient digital strategies and operating models that provide new or enhanced capabilities.
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Corporate and International Tax
Northern Ireland businesses face further challenges as they operate in the only part of the UK that has a land border with a country offering a lower tax rate.
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Employer Solutions
Our team specialises in remuneration and incentive planning and works closely with employers, shareholders and employees to ensure that business strategies are aligned and goals achieved in the most tax efficient, cost-effective manner.
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Global Mobility Services
Grant Thornton Ireland offer a different approach to managing global mobility. We have brought together specialists from our tax, global payroll, people and change and financial accounting teams across Ireland and Northern Ireland, while drawing on the knowledge and insights of our global network of over 143 offices of mobility professionals to provide you with a holistic approach to managing global mobility.
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Our outsourced service provides valued service to over 150 separate PAYE schemes. These ranging from 1 to 1000 employees, working for micro, SME and global employers. The service is supported by the integrated network of tax and global mobility teams and the wider Grant Thornton network delivering a seamless service. Experienced staff deliver a personal service built around your business needs.
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Tax Disputes and Investigations
Our Tax Disputes and Investigation team is made up of tax experts and former HMRC investigators who have years of experience in dealing with a variety of tax investigations. Our expertise and insight can guide you through all interactions, keeping your cost at a minimum while allowing you to continue with the day to day running of your business.
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VAT and Indirect Taxes
At Grant Thornton (NI) LLP, our team helps Northern Ireland businesses manage their UK and global indirect tax risks which, as transactional taxes, can quickly become big liabilities.
Prevention procedures are key to avoiding new taxation law penalties
19 Sep 2017The Government has repeatedly promised to crack down on tax evasion, and the inclusion of a new criminal offence in the Criminal Finances Act is a significant step in fulfilling that promise.
Under the Criminal Financing Act companies or partnerships (a relevant body) will be held criminally liable where they fail to prevent those who act for them, or on their behalf, from criminally facilitating tax evasion. Although the legislation places greater responsibility on business, a survey carried out in April showed that 76% of senior decision makers in UK businesses were however unaware of this new law.
All businesses will have to undertake a documented risk assessment to identify the risks of facilitation of tax evasion within their organisation. However it is likely to be mainly relevant to solicitors or other professionals providing any form of tax advice.
Prior to this new legislation, attributing criminal liability to a relevant body required prosecutors to show that the senior members of the relevant body were involved in and aware of the illegal activity.
The new offence does not radically alter what is criminal, it simply focuses on who is held to account for such acts. It does this by focussing on the failure to prevent the crimes of those who act for or on behalf of a corporation, rather than trying to attribute criminal acts to that corporation.
There are three stages to the new offence; criminal tax evasion by a taxpayer (either an individual or a legal entity), criminal facilitation of the tax evasion by an ‘associated person’ acting on behalf of the relevant body; and the relevant body failing to prevent its representative from committing the criminal facilitation act.
An associated person is someone who is an employee, agent or other person who performs services for or on behalf of the relevant body. Therefore sub-contractors can be associated persons.
A business which commits this offence could face unlimited financial penalty. Furthermore a criminal conviction could have more wide-ranging implications because it may require disclosure to professional regulators and could prevent the business being awarded public contracts. It could also create serious reputational damage.
If a relevant body can show that it has put in place reasonable prevention procedures that identify and mitigate tax evasion facilitation risks then prosecution is unlikely as it will be able to raise a defence.
To demonstrate that a firm has reasonable procedures in place to prevent such facilitation, HMRC has published six overall guiding principles that firms should follow; risk assessment of business lines, risk-based prevention procedure, top level management commitment, due diligence (of all employees, agents or service providers who act for them), communication and training, and monitoring and review.
The new law received Royal Assent before parliament was dissolved for the general election in April 2017 and the new offences will apply from 30 September 2017.
