HMRC Interest question.

[cashmax]

Got a question for the accountants out there.

Many moons ago I ended up investing in a "scheme" which HMRC decided might be tax avoidance. At the time they wrote to me and told me they were investigating it. I provided all the info they asked for and that was the end of it. I had no further comms from them.

Today (more than 13 years since my last contact with them) I get a letter that basically says they think it probably was avoidance and that I have an opportunity to "settle my affairs" The letter goes on to say that in addition to the tax they think I owe, they want interest (which is more than £25k) ontop before they call it quits.

It doesn't seem fair to me that they didn't give me the opportunity to settle before this (I couldn't do this proactively, even if I wanted to because I wasn't sure I owed anything at all) and that I am paying for them to just sit on this for all this time?

[MaxFromage]

You will be best engaging an accountant or specialist who deals with HMRC investigations. There are various avenues depending on the scheme and how it was handled. You may find there are plenty of other people fighting HMRC's position on the scheme you were sold.