Tax Man Using Rightmove and Zoopla to Spot Fraud

British accounting firm UHY Hacker Young claims to have found evidence that the UK tax authorities are using information displayed on listings on the 'big-two' portals Rightmove and Zoopla to check for tax irregularities.

British agency publication Estate Agent Today claims that the tax HMRC (Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs) cross-checks tax returns, council tax bills, Land Registry data and portal listings as part of the Let Property Campaign which saw  £17.7m collected in extra property tax last year.

While Rightmove declined to comment on the matter, Zoopla indicated that it did not have any involvement in any investigation by government tax officials.

In other news related to Rightmove, the portal has announced that more than 10,000 agents have received certificates for completing a GDPR course laid on by the portal as part of a drive to train its agent customers.

The training is completed by agents through the Rightmove Hub and the cost is included in Rightmove membership packages. Training on how to win instructions and anti-money laundering are also popular courses available in the Hub.

Rightmove has raised prices for some agents recently and is using its increased suite of products as justification for the move. Given the popularity of the free training courses for members, it would seem that this is one of those products that agents do truly find useful.