The tax industry has long anticipated the introduction of a GAAR and indeed it was first formally recommended to the government in November 2011 by Graham Anderson QC after an eleven month review.
Announcing the publication of the Bill, which is due for its second reading in the House of Commons on 15 April, exchequer secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said the measures “demonstrate the government’s commitment to developing tax policy in a transparent manner, consulting wherever possible, which is reflected in the many constructive comments we have had on the draft legislation”.
Meanwhile, there were no surprises for those in the Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme industry, unlike last year which saw the complete removal of Guernsey as a QROPS jurisdiction for new pension transfers.
The only changes to the regime were those already published in the draft regulations in November, namely an extension of the reporting requirements for current and past schemes. Specifically, schemes will have to notify HM Revenue & Customs every five years of their intention to remain a QROPS and schemes making member payments, regardless of whether they remain a QROPS or not, will also have to report to HMRC every five years.
However, there were quiet words of warning from some in the industry. David Higgins from The Overseas Pension suspects HMRC is currently in “information gathering mode” and is keeping the door open for further changes in the future.
Similarly, Paul Davies, director at specialist advisory company, Global QROPS, said: “These measures are a clear indication that the Revenue is keeping an ever closer eye on what happens to UK pension money.”
