Finance Bill 2013 includes anti-avoidance provisions

Finance Bill 2013 includes anti-avoidance provisions

Highlights of the Finance Bill 2013 include the introduction of the General Anti-Abuse Rule

PROVISIONS DESIGNED TO HELP HM Revenue & Customs impinge on tax avoidance arrangements and increase its awareness of schemes as they are established have been included in the 2013 Finance Bill.

The Bill comes hot on the heels of March’s Budget, announced by chancellor George OSborne (pictured).

Among the changes is the introduction of the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR), which will take effect over the summer once it receives Royal assent. The rule will catch which are designed solely to produce a tax advantage and as such are deemed contrived and artificial. An independent, 11-strong advisory panel will review schemes and rule on their validity.

Additionally, the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) legislation will be updated, with revisions consulted on during 2012. That consultation included the proposed power for the taxman to request client lists from firms and individuals suspected of providing abusive schemes. The Finance Bill includes two powers for secondary legislation which will be consulted on in early 2013 alongside other changes. The government intends to implement all the secondary legislation on a common date, later in 2013.

Other highlights included a statutory residence test, with legislation to be brought in with the Bill taking immediate effect, including a facility to allowing tax years to be split into a UK part and an overseas part, while new rules will be introduced for the taxation of certain income and gains arising during a period of temporary non-residence in the UK.

Targeted loss-buying, where companies put in place arrangements whereby they sell their losses to unconnected parties will no longer be possible with the introduction of Targeted Anti-Avoidance Rule. Previously, companies were able to use planning techniques to effectively sell their corporation tax losses to unconnected third parties, which was against the principles under which losses could be used.

Legislation will also come into force enshrining an automatic information-sharing deal with the US, while provision will be put in place to ensure levies received by HMRC under the UK-Swiss agreement are not treated as taxable remittances.

More information on the Finance Bill can be seen here.

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource