As part of a crackdown on online traders, the HMRC has ordered eBay and Amazon to surrender tens of thousands of members’ details. It has requested details including names and email addresses, and are offering people the opportunity to declare their outstanding taxes within a limited time.

This opportunity, known as the e-Markets Disclosure Facility, allows online marketplace traders, who come forward, to benefit from lower penalties than those who wait for HMRC to catch up with them. Traders who contact the HMRC before the 14th June will benefit from a reduced penalty of 20%, whereas those who wait will face a 100% penalty or could even be prosecuted.

Last year Greg Allnutt, 40, an eBay user from Croydon, was jailed for 20 months for evading £430,000 of tax while selling electrical goods on eBay between 2007 and 2010. This scheme is part of a series of efforts to claw back tax; which has so far resulted in Revenue and Customs recovering £500million.

HMRC has also written directly to thousands of online traders who may not have declared the total amount of tax they owe on internet sales. However, it is specifically targeting the sites’ biggest sellers who may rely on this kind of activity as their main source of income; rather than those who use these sites to sell only a few items.

Marian Wilson, head of HMRC Campaigns, said: “Our aim is to make it easy for online marketplace traders to contact us and make a full disclosure of income, thereby putting their tax affairs in order.

“If you owe tax and don’t get in contact, do not assume that HMRC will not catch up with you.”

The last few year have proved to be a more than little traumatic for the financial services sector and a recent report showed that one in three City job have been axed since the recession kicked in.

Other than the usually pressure that the City has been feeling from angry protests with the way practices were handled in the Noughies, it seems now persuading graduates into a financial career  is becoming increasingly difficult.

Surveys show that graduates are experiencing a ‘significant gap between their expectations in their careers, employers, job opportunities and the reality. Many are finding that the negative press or bad reputation associated with their sector is making them either look to alternative employers less in the limelight or to look at their personal options as job retention is becomes a real problem.

An Economics London Professor recently exclaimed about his students “When I see my students go off on careers in the City I do wonder: can’t society make better use of all that talent?”

Some of the training necessary to make a real success in the City replies on an appreciation of economic practices and patterns but also extensive learning and deep psychological thinking. With such high level skills, deliberating their employer’s moral standing and their own career aspirations can make for a challenging proposition.

Jon Terry, partner at PwC, said: The reputation of financial services has suffered due to the financial crisis, with 21 per cent of respondents saying they would rather not work in the sector. The millennial generation are extremely conscious of a company’s reputation, with 61 per cent of respondents saying they actively seek out employers whose corporate social responsibility values reflect their own.

“Financial services companies might have a tougher time competing against other industries for the reputation-conscious millennial generation, whose experience and expectations have been marred by the financial crisis,” Terry added. “This generation of graduates actively seek out employers whose values reflect their own, so the sector’s ability to restore trust and re-engage with society will be critical in attracting the best talent from current and future graduates.”

The Business Application Software Developer Association (BASDA) and independent developers are producing a range of easy to use record-keeping mobile apps, with the backing of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The aim is to help small businesses and bookkeepers with their record keeping obligations; as part of an ongoing campaign.

The apps will complement existing HMRC record-keeping guidance and tools, and are mostly free. Small businesses and the self-employed, who are below the VAT threshold of £77,000, will be able to maintain good records and estimate how much tax they owe…

Naomi Ferguson, Director Business Customer & Strategy, HMRC, comments that:

“More and more small businesses use Smart phones as part of their business. These apps will provide the opportunity to keep track of records on the go, wherever business people are. Record-keeping is often an add-on to day-to-day running of small businesses and the apps will hopefully help to make it an integral part of the business.

“We are really excited to see the arrival of the record-keeping mobile apps. The consultation with the software industry has been a positive process and has led to a number of high quality apps being available. We welcomed the opportunity to work with them to help customers with their record-keeping responsibilities and access our guidance.”