Dozens of construction firms and other contractors have been named in the government’s latest list of companies that have deliberately evaded tax.
According to the official list, a number of small contractors defaulted by hundreds of thousands of pounds each, with almost £2 million in debt.
Every few months, HMRC publishes information on those who have been charged for willful tax defaults of more than £25,000.
The list includes those who have “deliberately made mistakes in their tax affairs”, either through errors in their returns or failure to comply with their tax obligations.
The most recent list names about 40 companies or individuals who appear to have worked in construction or related industries (such as plastering, roofing and scaffolding) at the time of their default.
The second biggest defaulter in the most recent list was by Donton Ltd, a domestic construction company based in Nottingham that owed £1.9m in tax between 2018 and 2021. It was fined £1.3m of pounds as a result of the deficit.
Donton’s most recent accounts, covering the year to November 2020, report a turnover of £3.8m and a pre-tax profit of £14,666, with one employee. It received a winding up order in June this year following a bankruptcy petition from HMRC.
Another construction company that failed to pay a huge amount of tax was Burnley-based Kkrol Ltd. HMRC said the company was fined £327,463 for unpaid tax of £467,804, relating to periods in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
The company’s accounts for 2020 indicate that it was inactive that year, while in 2019 it recorded net assets of £495 and zero employees. The company, which records say is a domestic construction company, was incorporated in December 2018.
In November 2022 it was served with a compulsory strike notice, but it was suspended the following month after receiving an objection.
Gurmail Construction Ltd, based in Walsall, was also fined more than £300,000 for unpaid tax in 2020 amounting to £446,286.
Gurmail joined in 2019 and decided to wind up voluntarily in 2021. The liquidator’s most recent progress report, from July this year, says initial investigations revealed “a series of unexplained transactions as well as an unknown account which required further scrutiny and explanation by the director.”
It adds that “these matters are ongoing” and promises to update creditors in a future report.
Another major defect was from Nordic Ltd, which is described as having carried out building completion work such as painting and decorating. The company defaulted on £428,048 in tax in 2019 and 2020 and was fined almost £300,000 as a result.
Nordic, based in London, Nottingham and Gravesend, was incorporated in 2016 as AA Painters and Decorators Ltd and dissolved in July this year.
Meanwhile, Woodside Contracts Ltd, a Walsall-based wall and floor covering company, was fined £752,265 for failing to pay £1.1m in tax between 2019 and 2021. The company will receiving a compulsory cancellation notice in April last year. This was discontinued in May, with no further updates provided since then.
HMRC said it only publishes details of defaulters “where the taxpayer has not made full and immediate disclosure when HMRC began to investigate or before any investigation”.
The tax service points out that the published companies may have changed their behavior since then, or may no longer be at the published address.
HMRC added that the company currently at the published addresses may have no connection with the published companies.
He also noted that the businesses currently at the listed addresses “could be under completely new management,” despite having the same name.
