A consultation has been published proposing a new criminal offence for making reckless untrue statements or providing reckless inaccurate information to tax authorities in connection with direct tax matters. The proposal marks a significant departure from the existing framework, under which criminal liability generally requires a finding of dishonesty or deliberate conduct.

If enacted in its current form, the offence would capture conduct falling short of deliberate dishonesty, provided the relevant statement or information was reckless as to its accuracy. This has implications not only for taxpayers but for advisers involved in preparing or reviewing tax filings, who may face increased scrutiny of the processes used to verify information before submission.

We would encourage businesses and individuals with material tax exposures to review their internal processes for preparing and checking tax filings in light of this proposal, and to respond to the consultation where they consider the current drafting to be disproportionate.