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Details of
the most "aggressive and artificial" tax avoidance
schemes are to be listed by HMRC, as the department
continues its attempts to recoup additional revenue for the
public purse.
A
consultation document, High Risk Tax Avoidance Schemes,
proposes to describe in regulations the packages that are
unlikely to deliver the savings claimed. Users will be
required to disclose their chosen scheme to the taxman, and
they will be subject to an additional charge on underpaid
tax but they will be able to protect themselves from
the charge by paying up-front the amount in dispute. The
measure is the latest in the Revenue's ongoing battle against tax dodging,
which recently saw the launch of an initiative to target
businesses that are not registered for VAT in spite of
trading above the tax's threshold (see below).
HMRC say
they recently have had significant impact on deterring tax
avoidance behaviour particularly through Spotlights, the consumer advice online
but they warn that a minority of scheme promoters and users
are still content to sell and buy aggressive and highly
contrived tax avoidance schemes that do not work under
existing legislation. Users currently benefit from deferring
the disputed tax payment until the Revenue has completed an
investigation.
The
Exchequer secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said, For
too long, wealthy taxpayers [have been] using these schemes
as a cheap loan from government. Our proposals would stop
this practice, reducing the cost of HMRCs interventions and
ensuring a fairer tax system.
Tax
advisers and professional bodies are invited send their
comments
to Philippa
Staples, Room 3/45, 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A
2BQ. The consultation's deadline is 31 August 2011.
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