Frozen, you need to first of all take a deep breath and consider carefully the options and likely consequences.
The Montpelier scheme you used has been struck down in Court and in the absence of an extremely unlikely reversal based on a case begin herd about the "human rights" of retrospective legislation, the debate is over.
HMRC has won and has the power to raise final demands and to ask for surcharges if they are not paid.
So the first think to do is take the corrective action required in order to stop any more being added to the debt.
Then consider whether there is a reasonable excuse for having not taken the action required. I'm surprised an accountant did not take the action and you may be able to use that. In any event, it may be worth looking at whether they might be liable to compensate you. That is a legal action on your part but is worth considering.
Once you have taken the corrective action, you know how much you owe.
You say that you are unable to pay and I'm assuming you mean in one go, even if you realise your non essential assets.
Therefore you need to consider what you can afford to pay each month and from that work out how long it will take to repay HMRC.
Once you have that, make an offer to HMRC. They are likely to reject anything over 12/18 months but you need to establish an audit trail of offer made and payments beginning.
You cannot be forced to sell the home you live in. It may however be worth speaking with an insolvency specialist as some have lending facilities which may help.
If HMRC reject an offer to pay, they will go through the steps of asking politely, less politely, making calls/visit and ultimately threatening you with Court Action. In reality a very small percentage of cases get to Court.
If it goes that far however, having made an offer and started paying, a Judge is unlikely to be harsh in terms of assets/sales so long as you are making a genuine attempt to pay.
There are some debt charities worth talking to such as Step Change and CAB.
So, calm down and look at things objectively. This is you in 2018 solving a problem that a younger and more niave person created 10 years ago. This of what you are doing as helping a friend.
We (WTT) and Phil at DSW can help you with this. Others can as well, but make sure that whoever you deal with has some experience.
The Montpelier scheme you used has been struck down in Court and in the absence of an extremely unlikely reversal based on a case begin herd about the "human rights" of retrospective legislation, the debate is over.
HMRC has won and has the power to raise final demands and to ask for surcharges if they are not paid.
So the first think to do is take the corrective action required in order to stop any more being added to the debt.
Then consider whether there is a reasonable excuse for having not taken the action required. I'm surprised an accountant did not take the action and you may be able to use that. In any event, it may be worth looking at whether they might be liable to compensate you. That is a legal action on your part but is worth considering.
Once you have taken the corrective action, you know how much you owe.
You say that you are unable to pay and I'm assuming you mean in one go, even if you realise your non essential assets.
Therefore you need to consider what you can afford to pay each month and from that work out how long it will take to repay HMRC.
Once you have that, make an offer to HMRC. They are likely to reject anything over 12/18 months but you need to establish an audit trail of offer made and payments beginning.
You cannot be forced to sell the home you live in. It may however be worth speaking with an insolvency specialist as some have lending facilities which may help.
If HMRC reject an offer to pay, they will go through the steps of asking politely, less politely, making calls/visit and ultimately threatening you with Court Action. In reality a very small percentage of cases get to Court.
If it goes that far however, having made an offer and started paying, a Judge is unlikely to be harsh in terms of assets/sales so long as you are making a genuine attempt to pay.
There are some debt charities worth talking to such as Step Change and CAB.
So, calm down and look at things objectively. This is you in 2018 solving a problem that a younger and more niave person created 10 years ago. This of what you are doing as helping a friend.
We (WTT) and Phil at DSW can help you with this. Others can as well, but make sure that whoever you deal with has some experience.
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