The plight of an Angus shop owner who has been “named and shamed” as a serial tax cheat should serve as a warning to others to pay up, according to HMRC.
Ann Marie Kinnear from Friockheim was included in the agency’s “deliberate defaulters list”.
Mrs Kinnear, who previously owned a coffee shop and wine bar in Dublin, took over the Paper Shop in 2008 but recently closed the business which has been at the heart of village life for 100 years.
According to the HMRC, she failed to pay £40,936 of tax due over a period between 2009 and 2014 and has racked up penalties of £23,640 on the amount outstanding.
HMRC publishes details of those who have been fined for making deliberate errors in their tax returns or “deliberately failing to comply with their tax obligations.”
It only releases details on those who have been subject to an HMRC investigation and who owe more than £25,000.
A spokesman said: “HMRC is committed to making sure people pay the tax they owe. For the minority who refuse to pay, HMRC has a range of tools available.
“We are able to publish the names of those penalised under civil procedures for deliberately defaulting on certain tax obligations.
“This is about influencing behaviour by encouraging defaulters to engage with us. It is always easier if people make a full and prompt disclosure and co-operate with HMRC. If they do this, they will avoid being named.
“Deliberate defaulters are people who knowingly did not declare their full income to evade paying the correct tax. We have pursued their cases in order to get the tax back to fund public services.”
Mrs Kinnear said the shop closure was “nothing to do” with the unpaid tax which she described as “an ongoing issue”.
She declined the opportunity to further discuss the shop closure or her inclusion on the HMRC’s “deliberate defaulters list”.
“I think you have a cheek coming here actually,” she said when visited at home by The Courier.
Mrs Kinnear started a petition last year after parking spaces were lost on Gardyne Street.
At the time she warned her shop could close as a result of the development of 80 homes by Guild Homes (Tayside) Ltd adjacent to her shop.
One local said: “There is a story going round Friockheim blaming Guild Homes new housing development for the Paper Shop closure.
“Many of the older locals actually seem to believe this and have tackled some of the workers regarding this matter. The reason for the shop closing is simply due to deliberate non-payment of tax.”
HMRC and the Government has been criticised for naming and shaming individuals and small firms without taking more action to stamp out tax avoidance by corporate giants.
