The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Policy Bi-Monthly Newsletter – September 2016
Tax Avoidance & Evasion
Tackling Disguised Remuneration: technical consultation 16 August 2016 At Budget 2016 the government announced a package of changes to tackle disguised remuneration avoidance schemes to ensure users of these arrangements pay their fair share of income tax and National Insurance contributions. A technical consultation has been published which includes more detail on the changes the government will introduce in Finance Bill 2017. In order to provide as much detail as possible an early draft of the legislation has been included in the consultation document.
This consultation also includes details of proposals to tackle similar schemes used by the self-employed, and proposals to restrict the tax relief available to employers in connection with the use of these schemes. The government would like to hear views from anyone who is affected by, or interested, in these changes. This includes both users and promoters of disguised remuneration schemes, as well as the accountancy and tax professions.
The consultation will run until 5 November 2016.
Tax avoidance enablers to face tough new penalties 18 August 2016
Accountants, tax planners and advisers who provide advice on how to avoid tax could have to pay a fine of up to 100 per cent of the tax the scheme’s user underpaid.
As announced at Budget 2016 , enablers of tax avoidance will face tough penalties under new proposals being consulted on by the government.
A discussion document has been published - Strengthening tax avoidance sanctions and deterrents which proposes a new penalty for those who enable tax avoidance and changes to the existing penalty legislation which applies to those who use avoidance which is defeated. Currently tax avoiders face significant financial costs when HMRC defeats them in court. However, those who advised on, or facilitated, the avoidance bear little risk. The government is acting to make sure that tax avoidance is rooted out at source and this action will target all those in the supply chain of tax avoidance arrangements.
The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jane Ellison said :
“People who peddle tax avoidance schemes deny the country of vital tax revenue and this government is determined to make sure they pay.
The vast majority of their schemes don’t work and can land their users in court facing large tax bills and other costs. These tough new sanctions will make would-be enablers think twice and in turn reduce the number of schemes on the market. The consultation document also clarifies the rules around whether proven tax avoiders have taken reasonable care to ensure their tax returns do not contain inaccuracies, making it simpler to enforce penalties when avoidance schemes are defeated.”
This consultation closes at 12 October 2016 11:45pm.
cipp.org.uk
Page 76 of 80
Made with FlippingBook Online document