Countrywide Partners Limited has been named as a promoter of a tax avoidance scheme by HMRC. If you have been paid by them via this scheme where a part of your salary was in the form of a loan, please get in touch with HMRC now!
Scheme users entered into an employment contract with Countrywide Partners Limited (CPL). The contract states that the user will be paid a salary equivalent to NMW or NLW plus holiday pay. It also provides that any additional payments will constitute as a ‘Bonus’.
Users enter into a ‘Bonus, Incentive or Pay Scheme Offer’ called the ‘Bonus Agreement’ and a separate Loan Agreement with CPL. The Loan Agreement states that CPL promises to loan certain monies, secured against any ‘bonus’ payments, made to the user as pursuant to the terms of the bonus agreement.
CPL invoice the recruitment agency or end user for the services carried out by the scheme user retaining 15% from the gross amount received.
CPL pay the user:
- the NMW or NLW salary and any holiday pay through the payroll with income tax and National Insurance Contributions deducted from these earnings
- the remaining balance is paid to the user in the form of a loan (that will supposedly be repaid by future bonus payments). Bonus payments are taxable income, but tax is not paid on the loans
If you’re using this or any of the HMRC named schemes, HMRC strongly advises withdrawal and to settle your tax affairs to prevent building up a large tax bill.
If you’re already speaking to someone in HMRC about your use of a tax avoidance scheme, you should contact them to discuss this further.
If you do not have an HMRC contact and you want to get out of a tax avoidance scheme:
At the same time HMRC have named three other avoidance schemes :
For the details on the HMRC naming scheme along with the full list:
PAYadvice.UK 5/8/2022