Inland Revenue has issued a Revenue Alert warning of severe consequences for anyone who has or uses Electronic Suppression Software Tools (ESST) to try to evade tax.
Inland Revenue say the threat that ESS tools pose to the integrity of the tax system is significant and seriously undermines the integrity of the tax system.
Electronic Suppression Software Tools describe a software programme, device or tool, that can hide, conceal, modify, falsify, destroy, or prevent the creation of a record. These tools create the electronic version of two sets of books. Using this software amounts to tax evasion, and an aggressive form of tax evasion at that.
Many members have spoken in the past about practices that create an uneven playing field in the business environment and we know that like us there is membership support for the stamping out of these tools that undermine honest businesses.