Tax exposure is usually created long before it is discovered: in a contract clause, a payment routed the wrong way, or a registration that was never made.
What this area covers
- Permanent account number and value added tax registration
- Excise registration where the activity requires it
- Annual income tax return filing and statutory reporting
- Withholding tax analysis on payments to residents and non residents
- Municipal business tax and local levy registration
- Tax positions on cross border payments, royalties and service fees
- Responses to Inland Revenue queries, assessments and reassessments
- Administrative review and appeal against tax assessments
Questions we are asked in this area
Registration is mandatory once turnover crosses the statutory threshold, and it is mandatory from the outset for certain activities regardless of turnover. Some businesses register voluntarily below the threshold because their customers require a VAT invoice. We look at the activity, the customer base and the threshold together.
Payments to non residents can attract withholding tax, and the rate depends on the nature of the payment and on whether a double taxation treaty applies. Service fees, royalties and interest are treated differently. Getting this wrong creates a liability for the paying company, not the recipient.
Yes, through administrative review and then appeal, within defined time limits. The time limits are strict, so the first thing to establish on any assessment is the deadline. The evidence assembled at the assessment stage largely determines the outcome later.
Yes. A nil return is still a return. Not filing turns a simple annual task into a penalty and a compliance history that follows the company.