Tax avoidance to be avoided – whether definable or not.
HM Revenue & Customs director general Dave Hartnett announced that the department wanted to make avoidance ‘not worthwhile’. The latest plan is some combination of the carrot and the stick. ‘We want to leverage the benefits to advisers of reducing risk for their clients,’ he said, implying that the department would reward advisers who steer clear of avoidance.
But Bill Dodwell of Deloitte, the famous tax consultant feels that “Advisers who do things that are legal can hardly be punished or attract negative consequences, however much HMRC dislikes it”. ‘I would love to hear how that is possible under the law,’ he said. Richard Murphy, the anti-avoidance campaigner, has speculated that that might mean advisers involved in avoidance would see their clients investigated more regularly.