Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, for what reason HMRC pursues employees complicit in the use of loan schemes and not employers.

Where an employee has used a disguised remuneration (DR) scheme, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will go to the employer to settle the tax due in the first instance. Approximately 80 per cent of the £3.4 billion HMRC brought into charge through DR settlements, between March 2016 and the end of March 2022, was from employers.

Liability for the tax is always that of the individual and HMRC will consider other options when collection from the employer is not possible, such as when the employer no longer exists or is based offshore. Parliament has provided a range of statutory powers allowing HMRC, in certain circumstances, to collect the amount due from the employee.