12:05 pm, March 20, 2025
A well-known used car salesman has been fined an eye-watering £2.14m after intentionally avoiding over £3m in tax.
Derek McCarrity, of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, knowingly dodged a staggering £3.15m in tax relating to his car sales business, between May 2010 and 31 October 2011, as well as from February 2012 to March 2024
A former champion rally driver, McCarrity is no stranger to taking a risk but the unpaid bill has now landed him in hot water with HMRC.
The 55-year-old has appeared on the government’s latest list of deliberate tax defaulters, which names and shames people and businesses who have received a fine for owing at least £25,000.
McGarrity was handed a £2.14m penalty for failing to make the payment, making him the biggest automotive tax dodger on the list.
He was also the fifth biggest defaulter overall and the largest avoider of tax in Northern Ireland.
Also on the list with a tax bill running into seven figures was Motor Store Ltd Car, which formerly ran sites in Chesham, Amersham and Kingsbury.
According to HMRC, the business had unpaid tax bills totalling £1.19m dating from May 2013 to April 2018 and May 2021 to April 2022.
The outfit was fined £529,735.20 for the indiscretion and Companies House records show that liquidators were appointed back in February.
Elsewhere, the Grays-based APS Consulting Limited – formerly known as ‘APS Cars Limited’ – was fined £79,721.51 for failing to pay £86,185.45 in tax between March 2019 and May 2023.
Meanwhile, Mark Lawrence Brockwell, who formerly traded in Walton on Thames as ‘Brockwell Cars’, was handed a £37,710.11 penalty in relation to an unpaid tax bill of £77,003.90, dating back to between April 2013 and April 2017.
Finally, St Albans car dealer Thomas Loraine was slapped with a £38,287.30 fine after failing to pay £71,232.22 in tax between February 2018 and April 2023.
Overall, car dealers were fined a total of £2.83m for attempting to avoid a spectacular £4.58m in tax.
The motor trade’s biggest tax dodgers
Derek Michael McGarrity
- Unpaid bill: £3,157,875.44
- Fine: £2,144,573.82
Motor Store Ltd
- Unpaid bill: £1,196,070.15
- Fine: £529,735.20
APS Consulting Limited (formerly known as ‘APS Cars Limited’)
- Unpaid bill: £86,185.45
- Fine: £79,721.51
Mark Lawrence Brockwell (trading as ‘Brockwell Cars’)
- Unpaid bill: £77,003.90
- Fine: £37,710.11
Thomas Steven Loraine
- Unpaid bill: £71,232.22
- Fine: £38,287.30
HMRC says that the list only includes those penalised under civil procedures and does not include criminal convictions for tax fraud.
Offenders details will remain available on the government’s website for the next year as part of a bid to ‘influence taxpayer behaviour and encourage defaulters to engage with HMRC.’
A spokesman for HMRC said: ‘The latest update includes significant cases, with some penalties running into millions of pounds.
‘In each case, the taxpayer failed to fully disclose their default to HMRC at the outset of an investigation.
‘These defaulters’ details will remain published for 12 months. It is important to note that this list only includes those penalised under civil procedures and does not include criminal convictions for tax fraud.’
Kevin Hubbard, HMRC’s director of individuals and small business compliance, added: ‘We use a range of tools to take firm action against the minority who refuse to pay the tax they owe.
‘This includes publishing the names of those penalised for deliberate defaults to influence taxpayer behaviour and encourage defaulters to engage with HMRC.’
The full list can be viewed here.
