Loan Charge

Debate between Ross Thomson and Laurence Robertson

Thursday 4th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Ross Thomson]

I echo my hon. Friend’s point. He is right that many of those who gave advice seem to have disappeared.

[Mr Laurence Robertson (Tewkesbury) (Con)]

rose—

[Ross Thomson]

I will take an intervention from the other side of the Chamber first.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ross Thomson]

I will take one more intervention and then make a little more progress.

[Mr Robertson]

Following on from the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk), not only may advisers have gone out of business, but there is a legal disjoint here. As I understand it, if someone were to seek redress, they can go back only six years, or maybe nine years if they have only just become aware of the problem, whereas HMRC is going back 20 years. There is a big difference between how they are being pursued and how they can obtain redress.

[Ross Thomson]

My hon. Friend is right. I do not know whether he has read today’s Financial Times, which has a good article about the effects of retrospection and how some of the legal safeguards for taxpayers that ensure continuity in tax affairs are being broken.