Avoidance task force to meet in London
A crack team of international tax officials will meet in London this month to swap ideas on how to combat abusive tax avoidance schemes.
Link: Anti-avoidance alliance may expand to G7
The task force, comprised of experts from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, is designed to close loopholes that allow taxpayers to ‘hide behind’ different tax jurisdictions. It seems likely it will be closely aligned with the UK’s newly created tax-avoidance disclosure regulations.
The initiative was debated in the House of Lords last week, where Lord McIntosh of Haringey said that it would ‘build on rules obliging promoters of avoidance schemes to disclose them to their revenue authorities, with emphasis on those that have an international dimension’.
The task force will be headquartered in Washington for the first two years, and the government may look to expand it to other members of the G7, or those countries engaged in the Financial Action Task Force.
A spokesman for the IR confirmed the meeting was taking place, but refused to give details of the agenda. No announcement has been made on which UK officials would be seconded to the team. Deputy Chairman Dave Hartnett is thought to be involved.