HMRC Consultative Document - marketed tax avoidance schemes

[varunksingh]

Great Post Saleos. Anyone and everyone will get affected by this. I don't think anywhere in world a Tax department has these kind of powers. It plainly give HMRC enormous powers to collect tax which they think is due at short notice from anyone.

Also no advantage in being legal as laws can change retrospectively whenever required by the government. Instead of declaring everything to HMRC and giving them enough time to act, they are encouraging those scheme providers who never used DOTAS and kept things hanky-panky.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" - Martin Luther King Jr

[malvolio]

Unless I'm reading this wrong you are 10 years out of date.

Final Distribution and application of assets in bankruptcy cases

Specifically "Abolition of crown preference and remaining preferential creditors"

and

"HMRC are non-preferential ordinary unsecured creditors"

Hmmm... I will bow to expert opinion of course, but if the bankruptcy is driven by a need to pay a tax bill, are you certain that isn't classified as an "expense" of the bankruptcy?

[varunksingh]

Questions

1) When will we know the final text of the law - Apr 14 or Jul 14.
2) If approved, when will HMRC start sending out "failure notices" - Apr 14 or Jul 14
3) Will it be possible to take HMRC to court on this and get a stay until court decides if what they have proposed / approved by parliament is legal or not

[Dylan]

Hmmm... I will bow to expert opinion of course, but if the bankruptcy is driven by a need to pay a tax bill, are you certain that isn't classified as an "expense" of the bankruptcy?

I thought the expenses were those of the court and receiver, I may be wrong, not an expert.

If you were right but the individual files for bankruptcy before HMRC do on their behalf then I still think they'd be near the bottom of the list.

[DonkeyRhubarb]

Timescales

1) When will we know the final text of the law - Apr 14 or Jul 14.
2) If approved, when will HMRC start sending out "failure notices" - Apr 14 or Jul 14
3) Will it be possible to take HMRC to court on this and get a stay until court decides if what they have proposed / approved by parliament is legal or not

The final text should be available March/April.

It will be debated by MPs in the Parliamentary Finance Bill Committee in May.

The Bill will get royal assent in July, after which HMRC could start issuing notices.

[varunksingh]

Thanks DR

And can it be taken to Court requesting Court decides whether it is legal or not before HMRC starts?

[TheDandy]

And can it be taken to Court requesting Court decides whether it is legal or not before HMRC starts?

If what is legal or not?

[malvolio]

And can it be taken to Court requesting Court decides whether it is legal or not before HMRC starts?

If it's a law passed by Parliament and given the Royal Assent, you might have a problem proving it to be illegal...

[DonkeyRhubarb]

If it's a law passed by Parliament and given the Royal Assent, you might have a problem proving it to be illegal...

WHS

[varunksingh]

If it's a law passed by Parliament and given the Royal Assent, you might have a problem proving it to be illegal...

1) Whether it is legal or not to apply it retrospectively. For example UKBA lost in court when they change immigration laws retrospectively. Here they are changing how DOTAS is acted up and applying it to old existing cases. All DOTAS schemes are being declared that they did not work and tax payers will be required to pay. Only if tax payer is able take HMRC to court, exhaust all appeal options only than money will be given back.

2) Failure notice provisions and DOTAS extension MIGHT be against the natural justice. In affect HMRC is punishing tax payer even before Tax payer has been proven guilty. From one of the earlier posts
"
"No man in this country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or to his property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel into his stores."
Ayrshire Pullman Motor Services v Ritchie v CIR CS 1929 14 TC 754, Lord Clyde.
"