Government urged to act after four more tax avoidance schemes identified

As reported in LondonLovesBisiness.com on wednesday 11 September, HMRC has added four more tax avoidance schemes to its list of known avoidance promoters. The update, issued on 5 September, should be welcomed – but instead, it raises questions about HMRC’s anti-avoidance strategy.

Government urged to act after four more tax avoidance schemes identified

This is according to Qdos, a tax compliance expert and insurance provider. While a growing number of avoidance schemes are identified, thousands of contractors and freelancers remain exposed to non-compliance risks.

The explosion in tax avoidance schemes identified in recent years – HMRC’s list began in 2022, and there are around 100 identified schemes – which indicates a growing issue, driven by the introduction of the off-payroll working rules (‘IR35 reform’) and a lack of umbrella regulation.

While previous governments have attempted to recover tax revenues lost to avoidance schemes through controversial methods, such as the Loan Charge, Qdos believes an urgent change in strategy is needed.

This includes introducing regulation of the umbrella sector, and holding scheme operators to account, as well as ensuring that flexible workers and other vulnerable self-employed workers are better protected against exploitative practices.

22 November 2024

TURKS AND CAICOS: Companies Amendment Bill 2024 to combat financial crime and enhance transparency, says Attorney General

Attorney General of Turks and Caicos Islands, Rhondalee Braithwaite-Knowles, KC, has assured that the Companies Amendment Bill 2024 will address financial crime and illicit activities, while balancing

Read More
7 March 2025

US: Treasury Department won’t enforce beneficial ownership rule under the Corporate Transparency Act

The Treasury Department announced it would not enforce part of a groundbreaking transparency law aimed at curbing money laundering and tax fraud, a move critics say will weaken national security and

Read More
20 January 2024

INTERNATIONAL TAX: UN Asks OECD To Study Human Rights Impact Of Tax Plans

Experts from the United Nations asked the OECD in a letter to study how its plans for a global minimum tax and a reallocation of large companies’ tax payments could impact human rights, claiming

Read More
24 May 2024

Binance Tax Evasion Case Adjourned After Executive No-Show

Nigeria’s tax handling agency, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), filed a tax evasion case against Binance Holdings Limited earlier this year. The case, set for a Federal High Court in Abuja,

Read More