Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Loan Charge, who the deemed employer or promoter was of loan schemes used by Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services (RCTDS)-employed contractors post 2017; for what reason use of those schemes reportedly continued for three years after the enactment of the Finance Act 2017; and whether the then Comptroller and Auditor General of the National Audit Office audited and signed off RCTDS accounts in 2018.

Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services Limited (RCDTS) has never participated in disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes, for example by remunerating contractors through loans or payments to trusts. Since RCDTS engages contractors via agencies or via companies providing services, it is possible for contractors to use disguised remuneration without the participation or knowledge of RCDTS.

It is not possible for HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to provide details of any employers, promoters or schemes due to their statutory duty of confidentiality.

Use of disguised remuneration schemes continued after the enactment of the Finance Act 2017 because promoters continued to sell them, despite the clear view of HMRC that these schemes do not work.

Any RCDTS contractor identified in the course of HM Revenue and Customs’ compliance work as using a disguised remuneration scheme would be investigated in the same way as any other contractor. Where the use of disguised remuneration is found to be current, the relevant engagement is terminated with immediate effect.

The Revenue and Customs Digital Services Ltd accounts ending 31 March 2018, 31 March 2019 and 31 March 2020 were audited by the NAO under Statute.