,
7 tweets,
2 min read
Read on Twitter
Some very moving letters from those subject to the so-called loan charge provisions. They will include a mixture of those who should have, and those who couldn't have, known better. There are, however, some general takeaways... on.ft.com/2E8ySKC
First, HMRC needs to realise the public (reasonably) expects it to do more than sit back and collect taxes. HMRC's sin is not that it administers the loan charge but that it failed to do enough to warn people about the risks of this (and other) types of widespread tax avoidance.
Second, once again, the main wrong-doers will be the barristers who gave and give dodgy advice about these planning arrangements and the promoters who missell them, all of whom get rich, and walk away without consequence. I wrote about them here. waitingfortax.com/2014/08/07/wea…
It is and remains a regulatory scandal that being a dental hygienist is a regulated activity but anyone (including convicted criminals) can (and some have) offer tax advice or sell tax products. These are massive regulatory weakness and the public is the victim.
Whatever you're told, the die is now cast for those who have to pay the loan charge. For most the best course is to stop spending money fighting it, make whatever arrangements you can to pay, and try and move on with your lives.
But we must have action to address the causes.
But we must have action to address the causes.
(Transparency note: I was briefly instructed to argue one of the main cases on EBT loans but was sacked for being (rightly as it transpired) gloomy about prospects. And I have advised those subject to the loan charge provisions.)
It is absolutely right to add that HMRC is under-resourced and often deals poorly with the detail of what are complex fact patterns. It is also right to say that some professional advisers do not act to ensure HMRC is properly informed of those facts.
