Tax Avoidance

(asked on 12th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what circumstances are included for HMRC to extend the settlement window for people subject to the Loan Charge after 30 September 2020.


Answered by
Jesse Norman Portrait
Jesse Norman
This question was answered on 16th October 2020

HMRC do not hold data on reports from individual taxpayers who may feel they have received incorrect advice from advisers about their settlements. A core principle of the tax system is that an individual is responsible for their own tax affairs. The actions of a third party adviser are not normally considered to be an exceptional circumstance beyond the control of the taxpayer.

HMRC are continuing settlement discussions with a relatively small number of taxpayers who were prevented from meeting the 30 September deadline by exceptional circumstances beyond their control, such as recent hospitalisation.

The criteria HMRC consider for continuing settlement discussions beyond the 30 September deadline are:

  • The taxpayer had actively engaged in the settlement process until the occurrence of a factor;
  • The factor is entirely outside the control of the taxpayer,
  • The factor prevented the taxpayer from settling by 30 September; and
  • Absent the factor, the taxpayer would have been able to settle by 30 September, and
  • The taxpayer is able, and agrees, to settle within a defined period of no more than 3 months after the 30 September.
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