Tax Avoidance

(asked on 27th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many penalties were imposed under the General Anti-Abuse Rule regarding (a) income tax and (b) corporation tax in (i) 2016, (ii) 2017 and (iii) 2018.


Answered by
Mel Stride Portrait
Mel Stride
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
This question was answered on 1st April 2019

The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) penalty applies to tax arrangements entered into on or after 15 September 2016. Before a GAAR penalty can be charged, HMRC must first enquire into tax returns once they are received and gather all relevant facts.

Whilst no penalties have been charged to date, HMRC is actively using the GAAR to tackle tax avoidance. To date, all cases referred to the GAAR Advisory Panel have resulted in a Panel opinion in HMRC’s favour. GAAR Panel opinions are published online at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-avoidance-general-anti-abuse-rule-gaar

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