Reuters London
Britain would toughen up oversight of tax avoidance schemes, which could see the tax authorities name and shame those who try to aggressively reduce their tax bills, the government said yesterday.
Under pressure to offset the impact of an austerity programme that has been a factor in the country’s recession, the government is proposing new powers for the taxman.
They include greater access to information from tax avoidance schemes to identify their customers and warn those wealthy individuals over their actions. Another proposal would see tax avoidance providers that have broken the rules being forced to reveal details of their schemes.
The move follows criticism last month of British comedian Jimmy Carr by Prime Minister David Cameron, who said Carr’s use of an offshore tax scheme was “morally wrong”.
Research from the Tax Justice Network has estimated that, worldwide, rich individuals have exploited loopholes in different nations’ tax regimes to shelter as much as $20 trillion (R167 trillion) in wealth from tax authorities.
“We are building on the work we have already done to make life difficult for those who artificially and aggressively reduce their tax bills,” junior Treasury Minister David Gauke is expected to say in a speech, according to extracts released in advance.
“These schemes damage our ability to fund public services and provide support to those who need it.”
Britain has slumped back into recession this year, raising concerns that the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government will struggle to meet its budget deficit targets.
That has made areas such as clamping down on tax avoidance and finding efficiency savings across government departments crucial.