A post-Budget paper on tax evasion and avoidance proposes a new strict liability offence for offshore tax evasion, and new offences for corporates failing to prevent it. Professional regulators will also be asked to take on a greater role in policing unacceptable tax avoidance. The EU publishes proposals for tax transparency, including the repeal of the EU Savings Directive. Despite the publicity, HMRC does not always win before the courts, as the tax tribunals uphold tax avoidance schemes in two separate cases dealing with restricted securities and the capital gains tax group relief rules.
