Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which tax avoidance schemes involving trusts have been (a) notified to HMRC and (b) classified as harmful in the last five years.
Tax avoidance deprives the Exchequer of hundreds of millions of pounds a year. Every amount of tax avoided means more tax for other taxpayers to pay, or less funding for our vital public services – our nurses, teachers, doctors, police and many others.
Introduced in 2004, the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS) regime requires those who design and/or promote tax avoidance schemes to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) where a scheme contains various ‘hallmarks’ of tax avoidance, or face a penalty. Once notified, HMRC send the promoter a Scheme Reference Number (SRN) who must give it to scheme users for inclusion on their tax returns. This alerts users that they are involved in a disclosed tax avoidance scheme. The fact that a scheme has been notified under DOTAS does not in any way signify that it has been ‘approved’ by HMRC.
Since 2014, over 60 schemes have been disclosed under DOTAS.
A list of tax avoidance schemes involving trusts which have been notified to HMRC over the past 5 years cannot be released because of HMRC’s duty of confidentiality.
HMRC challenge appropriate cases and raises awareness of tax avoidance schemes through its series of Spotlight publications which is available on GOV.UK.