The issue will likely continue, with HM Revenue & Customs being granted the power to issue accelerated payment notices and follower notices in July.
It started to send out the notices, which enables it to charge contentious tax on what it considers to be an avoidance scheme without appeal and on the basis of previous court rulings, in August, and it intends to continue over the next 18 months.
Speaking at a recent stakeholder conference, financial secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, said: “The Government has taken unprecedented steps to clamp down on the selfish minority who practice tax avoidance, because we are firmly on the side of the vast minority of taxpayers who play by the rules.
“On top of a substantial fee to join a scheme that will almost certainly fail a challenge by HMRC, tax avoiders will also have to pay the tax they dodged, plus interest and penalties.”
While many have decried the Revenue’s approach, it has been labelled “unconstitutional” and “draconian” by two particular experts, the government body is undeniably a powerful, legislative force, and the industry faces no option other than to move with the tide, as the lines between “avoidance” and “evasion” are increasingly blurred.
Here, HMRC sets out the risks that people face when they sign up to a tax avoidance scheme, all the way from the possible monetary costs and reputational damage, to the potential of a criminal conviction.
Click here to see 10 things HMRC says a promoter will not always tell you.
