The possibility of a general anti-avoidance rule needs to be re-examined, one of the UK's leading tax experts has told Tolley's Practical Tax newsletter. John Whiting, tax policy director at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, was responding to a call by Taxation editor Mike Truman for the enactment of principles established in a series of court cases in which aggressive tax avoidance schemes were held to be ineffective.
Truman said tax professionals needed to decide which types of tax planning were "defensible".
Whiting said "most people" question whether tax advisers should devise artificial, aggressive avoidance schemes. Asked if he agreed that a GAAR was inevitable, he told TPT: "I think the issue needs looking at again, as the situation is becoming difficult."
Mark Lee, chairman of the Tax Advice Network, welcomed Truman's comments. "I'm delighted to see such a high profile commentary on this matter," he told TPT.
Next week's issue of Tolley's Practical Tax newsletter (23 October) will have more on this and other developments.
See also ...
Mark Lee: Too many marginal tax products are sold to too many unsuspecting people
Richard Murphy: Time for a General Anti-Avoidance Principle
