Policy statement
It is Our Media Limited’s policy to conduct all of its business in an honest and ethical manner. We take a zero-tolerance approach to the facilitation of tax evasion, whether under UK law or under the law of any foreign country.
We are committed to acting professionally, fairly and with integrity in all our business dealings and relationships wherever we operate, and to implementing and enforcing effective systems to counter tax evasion facilitation.
We will uphold all laws relevant to countering tax evasion, including the Criminal Finances Act 2017.
About this policy
The purpose of this Policy is to:
- set out our responsibilities, and the responsibilities of those working for us, in observing and upholding our position on preventing the criminal facilitation of tax evasion; and
- provide information and guidance to those working for us on how to recognise and avoid tax evasion.
This Policy does not form part of any contract of employment or other contract to provide services, and we may amend it at any time.
Who does this policy apply to?
This Policy applies to all persons working for Our Media Limited or on our behalf in any capacity (workers), including employees, directors, officers, agency workers, volunteers, agents, contractors, suppliers, contributors, external consultants, third-party representatives and business partners, sponsors, or any other person associated with us.
Who is responsible for the policy?
The Board of Directors have overall responsibility for ensuring this Policy complies with our legal and ethical obligations, and that all those under our control comply with it.
Mandy Hemmings, Group Finance Manager and the Legal Team has primary responsibility for implementing this Policy, monitoring its use and effectiveness, dealing with any queries about it, and auditing internal control systems and procedures to ensure they are effective in preventing the facilitation of tax evasion.
Management at all levels are responsible for ensuring those reporting to them understand and comply with this Policy and are given adequate and training on it.
You are invited to comment on this Policy and suggest ways in which it might be improved. Comments, suggestions and queries should be addressed to the Mandy Hemmings, Group Finance Manager and the Legal Team.
What is Tax Evasion Facilitation?
For the purposes of this Policy:
- Tax evasion means the offence of cheating the public revenue or fraudulently evading UK tax, and is a criminal offence. The offence requires an element of fraud, which means there must be deliberate action or omission with dishonest intent.
- Foreign tax evasion means evading tax in a foreign country, provided that conduct is an offence in that country and would be a criminal offence if committed in the UK. As with tax evasion, the element of fraud means there must be deliberate action or omission with dishonest intent.
- Tax evasion facilitation means being knowingly concerned in, or taking steps with a view to, the fraudulent evasion of tax (whether UK tax or tax in a foreign country) by another person, or aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of that offence. Tax evasion facilitation is a criminal offence where it is done deliberately and dishonestly.
- Associated persons means any person that provides services for or on behalf of the business. This includes employees, agents, representatives, subcontractors, suppliers, contributors, consultants and others.
Under the Criminal Finances Act 2017, a separate criminal offence is automatically committed by a corporate entity or partnership where the tax evasion is facilitated by a person acting in the capacity of an “associated person” to that body. For the offence to be made out, the associated person must deliberately and dishonestly take action to facilitate the tax evasion by the taxpayer. If the associated person accidentally, ignorantly or negligently facilitates the tax evasion, then the corporate offence is not committed. The company does not have to have deliberately or dishonestly facilitated the tax evasion itself; the fact that the associated person has done so creates the liability for the company.
Tax evasion is not the same as tax avoidance or tax planning. Tax evasion involves deliberate and dishonest conduct. Tax avoidance is not illegal and involves taking steps, within the law, to minimise tax payable (or maximise tax reliefs).
In this Policy, all references to tax include National Insurance contributions (and their equivalents in any non-UK jurisdiction).
What you must not do
In order to comply with this Policy you (or someone acting on your behalf) must:
- Not engage in any form of facilitating tax evasion or foreign tax evasion.
- Not aid, abet, or counsel tax evasion offence or foreign tax evasion by another person.
- Report any request or demand from any third party to facilitate the fraudulent evasion of tax or any suspected fraudulent evasion of tax by another person.
- Not threaten or retaliate against another individual who has refused to commit a tax evasion offence.
A list of potential ‘red flag’ scenarios has been included in Appendix A to assist employees and associated persons in identifying different forms of tax evasion. This list is not exhaustive and you should be mindful of the general anti-facilitation of tax evasion principle underpinning this Policy in all of conduct and dealings on behalf of Our Media.
How to raise a concern
If at any time you are concerned about whether a particular transaction or activity may amount to tax evasion, criminal facilitation of tax evasion you should raise any question or concern at the earliest possible opportunity with either:
- your line manager;
- Mandy Hemmings, Group Finance Manager;
- the Legal Team; or
- report it in accordance with our Whistleblowing Policy.
All matters raised will be dealt with in strict confidence and you will not suffer any adverse consequence for refusing to engage in the facilitation of tax evasion or for reporting instances in which you suspect that this Policy has been breached.
The corporate offence is only committed where you deliberately and dishonestly take action to facilitate the tax evasion or foreign tax evasion. If you do not take that action, then the offence is not made out. However, a deliberate failure to report suspected tax evasion or foreign tax evasion, or ignoring suspicious activity, could amount to criminal facilitation of tax evasion.
Training and communication
The Company will ensure that all employees (including new employees) are made aware of the Policy and will provide appropriate training to employees and directors in relation to the scope of the offence, as soon as reasonably practicable. Further information can be found here.
APPENDIX A
Potential risk scenarios: “red flags”
The following is a list of possible red flags that may arise during the course of you working for us and which may raise concerns related to tax evasion or foreign tax evasion. The list is not intended to be exhaustive and is for illustrative purposes only.
If you encounter any of these red flags while working for us, you must report them promptly to your line manager or to the Mandy Hemmings, Group Finance Manager or using the procedure set out in the Whistleblowing Policy:
a) you become aware, in the course of your work, that a third party has:
- made or intends to make a false statement relating to tax;
- failed to disclose income or gains to, or to register with, HMRC (or the equivalent authority in any relevant non-UK jurisdiction);
- delivered or intends to deliver a false document relating to tax; or
- set up or intends to set up a structure to try to hide income, gains or assets from a tax authority.
b) you become aware, in the course of your work, that a third party has deliberately failed to register for VAT (or the equivalent tax in any relevant non-UK jurisdiction) or failed to account for VAT;
c) a third party requests payment in cash or refuses to sign a formal commission or fee agreement, or to provide an invoice or receipt for a payment made;
d) you become aware, in the course of your work, that a third party working for us as an employee asks to be treated as a self-employed contractor, but without any material changes to their working conditions;
e) a supplier or other subcontractor is paid gross when they should have been paid net, under a scheme such as the Construction Industry Scheme;
f) a third party requests that payment is made to a country or geographic location different from where the third party resides or conducts business;
g) a third party to whom we have provided services requests that their invoice is addressed to a different entity, where we did not provide services to that entity directly;
h) a third party to whom we have provided services asks us to change the description of services rendered on an invoice in a way that seems designed to obscure the nature of the services provided;
i) you receive an invoice from a third party that appears to be non-standard or customised;
j) a third party insists on the use of side letters or refuses to put terms agreed in writing or asks for contracts or other documentation to be backdated;
k) you notice that we have been invoiced for a commission or fee payment that appears too large or too small, given the service stated to have been provided;
l) a third party requests or requires the use of an agent, intermediary, consultant, distributor or supplier that is not typically used by or known to us;
m) a client has stated they have unspent budget remaining as the year-end approaches, and they ask if they can make a payment to the company “on account” with the intention of using those funds for future sales activity. By making a payment to the company before services are rendered, the client could potentially claim a false deduction to reduce their taxable income, even though expenses have not truly been incurred yet.
n) a client has requested that the company issue a backdated invoice for activities that did not actually occur during the previous year. Specifically, they are asking for an invoice to be created and dated in the prior year, with wording stating it covers charges for activities during that year, despite those activities never happening. Backdating the invoice to the prior year could enable the client to improperly deduct those fictional expenses to reduce their tax liability for that year.
o) a client is requesting that invoices be issued in multiple smaller stages (e.g. £100, then £200, etc.) rather than following the standard invoicing process based on the actual activities/services ordered.
Last updated – (EB) May 2024