‘Business is “seriously concerned” about the risk of a backlash from the handling of tax avoidance disputes, according to the CBI, as it stepped into a row over the Revenue’s dealings with big companies.
Fifty-three disclosures of tax avoidance schemes were received by HMRC in the six months to 30 September 2011. There were 131 disclosures in the financial year to 31 March 2011, and 189 in the previous year.
Technical guidance on the FA 2011 rules on employment income provided through third parties has been added to HMRC’s Employment Income Manual. The guidance supersedes HMRC’s published FAQs.
The study group examining the case for a general anti-avoidance rule was set to report to the government by 31 October.
David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, said that to remove any doubt about a tax avoidance scheme's effectiveness, legislation had been changed in relation to the following numbers of disclosed schemes since 2005:
A petition calling for government action to ‘identify those avoiding and evading tax’ has attracted almost 5,000 signatures.
The United Kingdom would ‘easily’ take Switzerland’s place at number one in the Financial Secrecy Index if the ‘British network of secrecy jurisdictions’ were considered, according to an influential campaign group.
Chris Morgan considers recent changes in the international tax arena, including UK developments, recent proposals for a financial transactions tax, and the Dutch 2012 Tax Plan
Proposed changes to the rules allowing taxpayers to set business losses against income or capital gains are ‘unworkable, disproportionate and unfair’, according to the Chartered Institute of Taxation.