Brexit Views on HMRC sheme enquiries

[BattleCry]

I was speaking with a tax barrister last week who expressed the following view.

Until the vote last week, a lot of the Civil Service was allowing the EU to "do their thinking for them" in temrs of advising ministers etc. The vote now means that these people are going to become very busy and they will not have time for finessing the detail of policy and arguing the toss over detail. Instead the plan might be to clear the decks and dump as many disputes as possible in order to free up time elsewhere.

Whatever the outcome though, everything will slow down.

That's promising news. I look forward to sharing the whole sordid tale with my good friend RT

[EBTContractor]

I was speaking with a tax barrister last week who expressed the following view.

Until the vote last week, a lot of the Civil Service was allowing the EU to "do their thinking for them" in temrs of advising ministers etc. The vote now means that these people are going to become very busy and they will not have time for finessing the detail of policy and arguing the toss over detail. Instead the plan might be to clear the decks and dump as many disputes as possible in order to free up time elsewhere.

Whatever the outcome though, everything will slow down.

By "clear the decks and dump", does the barrister mean

a) dump as in drop disputes?
or
b) dump as in hurry up and get letters sent to victims without first finessing the detail?

[smalldog]

By "clear the decks and dump", does the barrister mean

a) dump as in drop disputes?
or
b) dump as in hurry up and get letters sent to victims without first finessing the detail?

As Gauke will have Hammonds ear there will certainly be some cases he would be willing to fight to the death I suspect!

[webberg]

Opinion is that Treasury will be looking to collect the big bucks but to duck the individual disputes route.

That means going after the EBTs at a corporate level and perhaps trying to reach a settlement with HMRC for alleged individual liability on the "other end" so to speak.

Perhaps that's just hopeless and wishful thinking but it has a certain logic.

[LondonManc]

Opinion is that Treasury will be looking to collect the big bucks but to duck the individual disputes route.

That means going after the EBTs at a corporate level and perhaps trying to reach a settlement with HMRC for alleged individual liability on the "other end" so to speak.

Perhaps that's just hopeless and wishful thinking but it has a certain logic.

Quite feasible if they're perceiving a struggle to get contracted staff in who are inside IR35 under their own new tax rules!

[ASB]

Opinion is that Treasury will be looking to collect the big bucks but to duck the individual disputes route.

That means going after the EBTs at a corporate level and perhaps trying to reach a settlement with HMRC for alleged individual liability on the "other end" so to speak.

Perhaps that's just hopeless and wishful thinking but it has a certain logic.

It does have a certain logic. But is it not rather likely that in the majority of case there isn't any ready cash available in the EBTs since they have lend it all to the users.

I suppose they could call in the loans, but that would just mean lots of individual actions anyway (albeit done by the trustees).

[webberg]

I think a lot of EBTs have had the contribution from the company but have not "earmarked" the funds for the employee in such a way as to trigger the PAYE liability.

Thus the loan exists (has perhaps been claimed for CT purposes) but is not yet taxable in the hands of the employee.

That is the whisper as the main target for the April 2019 charge.

I was more inclined to that view back in March. Now I'm not so sure.

[smalldog]

Opinion is that Treasury will be looking to collect the big bucks but to duck the individual disputes route.

That means going after the EBTs at a corporate level and perhaps trying to reach a settlement with HMRC for alleged individual liability on the "other end" so to speak.

Perhaps that's just hopeless and wishful thinking but it has a certain logic.

Would be if HMRC did Logic, but as has been proved time and again they will throw big money to get a poor return. I cant envisage them letting off the BN66/MontP victims too easily and they are individual cases.

[LondonManc]

Would be if HMRC did Logic, but as has been proved time and again they will throw big money to get a poor return. I cant envisage them letting off the BN66/MontP victims too easily and they are individual cases.

Unfortunately this is probably true, unless they actually get someone in who has experience at a debt recovery company who understands the actuarial costs of chasing and how much each chase is worth.