Ministers told extra £100m AML levy “simply unacceptable” during Covid and Brexit
Trade body makes comments as agents, accountants and other professional services providers wait to hear how much it will cost.
Accountants have labelled government plans to raise a further £100 million from industry to fund anti-money laundering (AML) efforts as “simply unacceptable in the current climate, which sees businesses large and small having to contend with both the effects of the pandemic and Brexit”.
The comment have come from the Association of Account Technicians (AAT) which like the estate agency counterpart Propertymark, is waiting to hear whether its members are to be charged an additional levy to fund AML compliance in the UK.
The Government opened a consultation in July which closed in October and the government says it is now mulling over the feedback before deciding whether to proceed.
This would mean all estate agents who have AML responsibilities paying an additional levy on top of the annual £300 per branch fees, set up and ‘fit and property person’ test fees.
Propertymark has been silent on the subject to date but accountants are more vocal.
“There is also a disturbing lack of clarity from the Government about how it would calculate and collect such a levy fairly and reasonably, which makes the imposition of the levy highly contentious and, AAT would argue, grossly unfair,” says its policy director Phil Hall.
“And there is considerable disagreement about how best to collect the levy. Most professional bodies, including AAT, believe the best way to do this is through a single public agency such as HMRC.
“In contrast, the Government appears to favour imposing responsibility for collection on to professional bodies.”
Read Phil Hall’s opinion piece in full.
Of course Propertymark are remaining silent, they no longer represent their agents interests as they are busy cosying up to the Government in order to be chosen as the new industry regulator. They wouldn’t want to say anything that would jeapodise that now would they? Since David Cox left Propertymark has taken a different path, and not a good one.