Analysis – HMRC's use of taxpayer information

Speed Read: The introduction of new provisions enabling HMRC to 'name and shame' tax defaulters has concentrated minds on how HMRC uses information that it holds in relation to taxpayers. It was once the case that all such information was thought to be confidential. However, this is no longer so, and a new and extensive suite of information exchange provisions — supplemented by Taxpayer Information Exchange Agreements and Memoranding of Understandings — means that such information may not even stay secure within the boundaries of the UK. Information exchange is a 'growth industry' within the field of tax with further — and broader — proposals in the pipeline.