The Home Office is meddling with complex tax affairs and it is questionable whether immigration officers have the requisite tax expertise to refuse people leave to remain in the UK under section 322(5) of the Immigration Rules for tax compliance reasons. Andrew Hubbard, tax consultant at RSM considers the dilemma
In the last few days reports have emerged of individuals being denied indefinite leave to remain in the UK because of tax problems. Initially it was quite difficult to see why there is a link between tax and immigration status, but it appears that leave is being refused under section 322(5) of the Immigration Rules, which applies where ‘it is undesirable to let an applicant stay in the UK because of their character, behaviour or associations, or they are a threat to national security’.
Home Office staff dealing with immigration matters do have the power to seek information from HMRC about an individual’s tax history.
One can understand why a person’s tax position might be relevant. There is the obvious case of an individual who has committed serious tax fraud, but another example would be to check a person’s level of income.
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