UK Treasury Refuses 'White List' Of Acceptable Tax-Planning

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

13 April 2004

Attempts by the UK's tax professionals to persuade the Treasury to publish a list of acceptable tax avoidance schemes have failed, and they will be required to notify all tax-planning arrangements to the Inland Revenue.

Last month's UK budget included an announcement that accounting firms and other tax-planners would in future be required to tell the Inland Revenue about any schemes they sell to individuals and companies.

The accounting firms suggested to the Government that a published list of 'acceptable' tax-planning arrangements would prevent the Revenue from being flooded with a torrent of useless notifications, but the Treasury has refused, apparently on the fairly specious grounds that it does not know about what schemes are in existence.

However, an official said the Revenue was unlikely, for example, to require details about individual savings accounts that attracted no income or capital gains tax.

Chas Roy-Chowdhury, head of tax at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, said: "The whole idea of this disclosure regime is to increase revenues. By not having a white list the Revenue runs the risk of focusing on schemes of little or no significance, and missing those schemes where it could make big gains in revenues."

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