HMRC wins three tax avoidance court cases

HMRC has won three key court decisions against tax avoidance schemes during July. According to HMRC approximately £200 million would have been diverted from the UK Exchequer if they had not been challenged through the courts. HMRC's Director General of Business Tax, Jim Harra, said: "These wins in the courts are a victory for the vast majority of taxpayers who do not try to dodge their taxes. They send a clear message to tax avoiders - HMRC will challenge tax avoidance relentlessly and we will beat you. "We have now had three major court successes in avoidance cases in the last month alone and I hope this sends a very clear message: These schemes don't come cheap, you carry a serious risk that you'll end up paying the tax and interest on top of a set-up charge which can run into the hundreds of thousands of pounds. So you have to ask yourself whether it's really worth it." In one of the cases, the directors of Sloane Robinson were paid significant bonuses. HMRC says that the company considered a number of tax avoidance schemes, modifying the one they had chosen when the legislation was changed to counter that type of scheme. The First Tier Tribunal ruled the modified scheme didn't work either. About £13 million of tax was at stake. HMRC points out that all of the decisions mentioned may be subject to appeal. August 24, 2012