A person is only guilty of a criminal offence where 2 essential elements are present. What are they?
- There must be a prohibited act (“Actus reus”)
- The defendant must have the appropriate guilty state of mind (“Mens rea”)
Also the burden of proof if to prove the commission of the crime beyond reasonable doubt
Who is responsible for bringing criminal proceedings against individuals?
The Crown prosecution service
Where are the offences to be heard?
Magistrates’ Court (summary offences)
&
Crown court (Indictable offences)
The Specialist fraud division (SFD) of the crown prosecution service is responsible for prosecuted what type of cases?
HMRC criminal cases in England & Wales
The Mens rea of theft has 2 principles - what are they?
Dishonesty & intention to permanently deprive another of their property
What is an unexplained wealth order?
HMRC can ask the high court to make a UWO
It requires a persons to provide a statement setting out their interest in property and how they obtained it, including how they paid for it and to produce supporting documents
Fraud can be committed in 3 ways - what are they?
- Fraud representation
- Failure to disclose information
- Abuse of position
What are the 4 main offences un the Bribery Act 201?
- Bribing another person
- Being bribed
- Bribing a foreign public official
- Corporate failure to prevent bribery
A business will have a defence against a charge if they prove they put in reasonable procedures to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion - Give the 6 principles that underpin the defence
- Risk assessment
- Proportionality & risk-based prevention procedures
- Top level commitment
- Due diligence
- Communication
- Including training &record keeping & monitoring & review
What is the difference between personal data and sensitive personal data?
Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data
Sensitive personal data relates to a person’s racial / ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, membership of a trade union, genetics, biometrics, health, sex life, sexual orientation & criminal convictions
What does the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) do?
Gives data subjects enhanced rights in relation to data
What 7 seven principles do data controllers have to follow under GDPR?
- Fairly, lawfully and transparently process
- Processed for limited purposed
- Data minimisation
- Accurate
- Not kept for longer than is necessary
- Help securely
- Processed by people who take responsibility for complying with principles
What is tort?
It is a civil wrongdoing by one person to another
It is a breach of legal duty or infringement of a legal right arising independently of contract
What is the usual remedy for professional negligence? and how are they assessed?
Damages - assessed according to the following:
- How far was the loss sustained foreseeable?
- Did the claimant mitigate their losses?
- Did the claimant contribute to the loss?
What does vicarious liability mean?
Tax practitioners can be liable for the professional negligence committed by another person
