HM Revenue and Customs name and shame NI tax cheats

A MAN from south Belfast is among three tax cheats in Northern Ireland who have been named and shamed.

Painter James Joseph Farmer, from Stanfield Row in the Markets area of city, faces a penalty of over £100,000 for deliberately defaulting on almost a year and a half’s worth of tax.

Philip Thompson, of the Larne road haulage company Philip Thompson Transport, has been penalised £25,361 for offences between April and October 2010.

Transport and storage firm Meighfreight Services Ltd. which formerly traded from Kellys Road in the Killeen area of Newry, faces a penalty of £30,778.

Every quarter, the HMRC will publish the name of tax cheats as part of its fight against tax evasion and non-compliance.

“Anyone who is thinking about avoiding their responsibilities should consider the consequences before they refuse to tell HMRC about their full tax liability,” Jennie Granger, Director General for Enforcement and Compliance, said.

“Cheating on tax is wrong and HMRC is dedicated to clamping down on the small minority of people who try to evade their responsibilities.

“Publishing these names encourages defaulters to make a full and prompt disclosure and cooperate with HMRC to avoid being named – all the named defaulters have exhausted the appeals process