New schemes that purport to avoid tax and NICs and ‘get around’ the new disguised remuneration rules will be challenged, HMRC said in a new ‘Spotlights’ item.
More than 200 pages of draft guidance on the ‘disguised remuneration’ rules in FA 2011 were published last week. HMRC said the draft was not being published as part of a formal consultation process, but any urgent comments may be emailed to HMRC by 2 September.
A measure to prevent the acceleration of first year allowances will take effect from 12 August 2011 or earlier, rather than next April, because of evidence that the delay could result in the loss of ‘significant revenue’.
Wealthy businessmen who engage in large-scale legal tax avoidance face ethical questions just as much as do young looters, a leading political journalist has claimed.
HMRC are seeking views on draft legislation, earmarked for Finance Bill 2012, to counter tax avoidance schemes exploiting double taxation agreements.
HMRC have published a third version of their FAQs on the ‘disguised remuneration’ legislation in Schedule 2 to the Finance Bill, replacing those published in March.
There is public outrage at ‘flagrant’ tax avoidance schemes, the barrister leading the GAAR study group has told Tax Journal, but any proposed general anti-avoidance rule ‘must not have any significant detrimental effect to the attractiveness of the tax regime’.
Graham Aaronson QC talks to Tax Journal editor, Paul Stainforth, about the progress of the study into a general anti-avoidance rule