UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will use the pre-budget report (PBR) later this year to announce further measures cracking down on tax avoidance, a Treasury minister has revealed.
According to Financial Secretary to the Treasury Stephen Timms, the PBR will propose new rules strengthening the disclosure regime for tax avoidance schemes, increase penalties for non-compliance, and further extend HM Revenue and Customs's (HMRC) information powers. Companies and individuals with undisclosed offshore financial arrangements are also likely to be pursued with renewed vigour.
In speech to a tax conference in London, Timms said that the government can no longer tolerate tax avoidance given the current economic conditions and the strain it is putting on the public finances.
"The crisis has powerfully reaffirmed what we have always known – that values like responsibility, integrity and trustworthiness are essential to economic life," he said.
"It is right for those who pay their fair share to resent – to see, in fact, as morally wrong – the actions of a small minority who use their resources to create a new set of rules for themselves, who think they can pay tax on a 'do it yourself' basis to rob public services of vital resources. That kind of behavior certainly won't wash in the aftermath of the crisis, in a period when spending is going to be tighter," Timms added.
Two consultation documents on modernizing HMRC's powers, deterrents and safeguards were published on July 9 by the UK government.
The first paper contains proposals for modernizing and improving HMRC’s information powers, and accompanying safeguards, in two key areas, including "bulk information powers" and "specialist unnamed taxpayer powers." The closing date for responses to both papers is October 1, 2009.
The consultations follow the introduction in April 2009 of a new compliance checking framework, which brought in a new set of rules and safeguards for HMRC inspections, visits and enquiries across a range of taxes, including income tax, capital gains tax, VAT, PAYE, the Construction Industry Scheme, and corporation tax.
.
Network Tweets
Network BlogsContent
provided by
|
Archive | Resources | Partners | Site Map | Links | Newsletter Archive | Contact | RSS Feeds | About | Syndication | Advertising & Marketing | Recruitment | Terms & Conditions | Privacy & Cookies
Copyright © 2012 - All Rights Reserved - Tax-News.com
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Tax-News.com has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments.
Write a comment