We use cookies to give you the best online experience. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy. Learn more here.Close Me
Last Thursday, the Chancellor said in a Commons reply to Andrew
Tyrie MP that retrospective taxes are acceptable where "the
wishes of Parliament have been abused and avoided". But, as we
are often told, tax avoidance costs the UK Łbillions each
year. Yet, there have been only a few instances of retrospective
taxes in the last 10 years. The selective use of retrospective tax
laws leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth for anyone who
believes that respect for the law applies to Government as well as
the people. What was the basis of selection and was it fair and
even-handed? Why did more egregious cases of avoidance go
unpunished?
So, there is a rule of law issue here. The right way to tackle
tax avoidance is by passing laws which make it ineffective in the
future. Retrospective legislation needs to be a last resort,
reserved for those cases where ample warning has been given of an
intention to legislate in specific circumstances. If the Chancellor
is prepared to use retrospective taxes to negate all avoidance,
there would be no need of the GAAR which he is about to introduce.
There was, however, some poetic justice in the outcome of the last
instance of retrospection. The Chancellor accused the Indian
Government of using retrospective taxes against British investors
in India, only to have the accusation thrown back in his face.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.
To print this article, all you need is to be registered on Mondaq.com.
Click to Login as an existing user or Register so you can print this article.
As mentioned in our July 2017 edition of UK Tax Round Up, the UK has enacted a new corporate criminal offence of failing to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion.
The impact of Brexit upon personal taxation is and will remain unclear for some time, but we have identified areas upon which a watchful eye will be required.
Since we have seen a focus and clamp down on tax avoidance/evasion and suggestions in the media that tax planning of any form is immoral if not illegal, some people have become nervous about taking any tax planning steps at all.
Under UK domestic tax law historically it has been the policy of the legislation relating to income tax to collect such tax in respect of recurring payments, by deduction.
HMRC are taking an aggressive stance on the availability (or lack of availability) of inheritance tax reliefs (IHT) business property relief for active trading furnished holiday let businesses.
Register for Access and our Free Biweekly Alert for
This service is completely free. Access 250,000 archived articles from 100+ countries and get a personalised email twice a week covering developments (and yes, our lawyers like to think you’ve read our Disclaimer).
