A buy to let landlord has been jailed for 27 months after failing to pay a tax bill of almost £158,000 when selling two rental homes.
Richard Fuller, 53, was arrested by HM Revenue & Customs when passing through London’s Gatwick Airport in October 2014.
He was returning from a holiday in Turkey to his home at Church Crookham, Hampshire.
HMRC told him his detention related to the sale of buy to let homes he had owned in Aldershot, Hampshire, between 2006 and 2013.
Fuller was found guilty of cheating the public revenue and fraud by false representation at an earlier hearing and was jailed for two years and three months after appearing at Winchester Crown Court for sentencing.
Warning to expat property investors
While sentencing Fuller, Judge A J Barnett, said: “The jury found you guilty of dishonesty. This is a serious matter, you deliberately failed to pay your Capital Gains Tax over several years”.
After the case, Richard Wilkinson, assistant director of HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service explained the case should serve as a warning to expats and UK-based landlords who may believe they have escaped investigation after evading tax.
“Fuller thought he was above the law and decided not to declare or pay the tax due from the sale of some of his property portfolio. It is simply not acceptable to steal from UK taxpayers.”
“HMRC will continue to pursue those who attempt to hide their gains on assets, their income, and investigate those who attack the tax system.”
Council licensing nets tax cheats
The investigation into Fuller was part of HMRC’s property taskforce campaign.
HMRC will now start confiscation proceedings to recover the unpaid tax by selling Fuller’s assets.
Meanwhile, expat landlords netted in council licensing measures will have their details passed to HMRC after Newham Council, East London, found that half of their 27,000-registered buy to let owners had not registered to pay income tax.
Many are expats who believe they have escaped their obligation by moving overseas will face tax evasion inquiries and even arrest at border posts on their return to the UK.
