Legal adviser sentenced for tax fraud

Thursday, 5 October 2017 16:00

A legal adviser, who hid his income to evade paying more than £82,000 tax, has been sentenced.

Self-employed Ian Austin, 65, of Bardsey, Leeds, provided legal advice to businesses but failed to tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about his earnings between 2004 and 2015.

The 11-year fraud was uncovered after HMRC investigators found he had worked for a solicitors’ firm and received payments totalling £29,000 between 2012 and 2014.

He was arrested in August 2016 and officers seized his laptop and five USB memory sticks which contained payment documents totalling more than £300,000 between 2010 and 2015.

Austin, who worked in the legal profession for more than 20 years, claimed he paid a Bradford accountant £500 to look after his tax affairs but could not explain why his tax returns had not been submitted.

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