The Danger of Tax Avoidance Schemes

With HMRC clamping down on tax avoidance, those looking at tax planning need to be more careful than ever to ensure they don’t inadvertently join an avoidance scheme.  Many schemes reference the fact that they have been signed off by a leading tax barrister, which would make you think that these would be fine to join.  Think again, however, as there is a real danger in relying on Tax Counsel’s opinion.

The fees available for bringing a tax planning scheme to market are substantial, but without sign off from a Tax barrister, they can be difficult to sell.  Unfortunately, some Tax Barristers, for a fee, will sign off on Tax Avoidance schemes that they know are likely to fail, enabling the scheme providers to sell on these schemes to unwitting tax payers.  Once HMRC disallows the scheme, the taxpayer can end up losing all the money they put in and face further unexpected tax charges.  So, taxpayers beware!

For a more detailed view on this subject please check out the article at the link below.
http://www.taxation.co.uk/taxation/Articles/2014/09/30/331491/weak-transmission