Apostle Accounting: 68 MPs invited to tax scandal meeting

Almost one-in-10 of the the country's MPs has been invited to meet with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about a tax scandal affecting hundreds of people.

The request has come from Suffolk Conservative MP Jo Churchill, in whose constituency the firm at the centre of the controversy is based.

She said people impacted came from 68 constituencies from across the UK.

Former clients of the firm are facing four and five figure bills from HMRC. Apostle has denied any wrongdoing.

Suffolk Police announced last week that it was investigating following almost 200 complaints and referrals.

Ms Churchill is meeting HMRC's director of individuals and small business compliance, Marc Gill, next week.

Her constituency covers Stowmarket where Apostle Accounting's office is located.

She said: "At this meeting I will press HMRC to ascertain how they are supporting constituents and that they recognise the importance and impact this situation is having on clients of Apostle Accounting across some 68 constituencies currently."

Ms Churchill added that each MP representing these constituencies had been notified and invited to attend.

The exact number of people affected is unclear but one former Apostle client, Lee Osborne, has compiled a list of people who say they had received a rebate, or had been notified by HMRC they now owe money.

Mr Osborne, from Sawtry in Cambridgeshire, says he is facing a bill "north of £20,000".

So far he has been contacted by 466 people who have told him they need to pay back, or expect to have to pay back, approximately £2.13m between them.

He said he hoped "HMRC can see that we as individuals never intended to do anything wrong and we need their forgiveness and empathy to help us".

"People feel despair and hopelessness right now, they need help" he added.

Apostle Accounting offered a service that submitted tax rebate claims based on work-related expenses to HMRC.

Many former clients received large pay-outs between 2016 and the end of 2021, but HMRC has since written to them stating the claims had been disallowed and the recipients were not entitled to the money.

In a previous statement issued through its lawyers, Apostle Accounting blamed HMRC for what had happened.

It denied any allegations of "non-compliance issues and/or fraudulent tax claims".

They added HMRC had reviewed Apostle's approach to the expense claims in 2019 and found it to be acceptable.

HMRC's actions, according to independent advice quoted by the firm, "appeared to be wrong, outside the law and its own guidance".

HMRC said: "You should be cautious about promises of easy money - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Handing over sensitive personal information could leave you having to pay back the full value of any invalid claim made on your behalf, as taxpayers are legally responsible for their own tax affairs.

"We have a legal duty to collect the right amount of tax, so can review claims from previous years to make sure the tax rules are applied correctly and identify any errors that may have been made.

"We take firm action against agents that do not comply with the law or breach HMRC's Standard for Agents, including issuing penalties, suspending claims or refusing to deal with an agent. We also work with professional bodies to set the standard expected for professional agents."

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