Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) promoters and (b) operators of schemes subject to the loan charge have been prosecuted.

Promotion or operation of mass marketed tax avoidance schemes is not in, or of itself, a criminal offence. However, there are a range of offences which might be committed by those who promote tax avoidance schemes or advise on their use.

On that basis, to date, while there have been no prosecutions of individuals for the promotion and/or operation of schemes subject to the Loan Charge, one individual involved in selling Disguised Remuneration schemes subject to the Loan Charge has been convicted for a related offence. Also, a number of individuals are currently under criminal investigation by HMRC for offences linked to schemes subject to the Loan Charge.

In addition to schemes subject to the Loan Charge, since 1 April 2016, more than 20 individuals have been convicted for offences relating to arrangements which have been promoted and marketed as tax avoidance. These have resulted in over 100 years of custodial sentences and 9 years of suspended sentences being ordered, the majority of which relate to promoters.

Prosecutions are only one type of intervention available to HMRC where they identify concerns.