Consultation on the introduction of a general anti-avoidance rule appears likely to feature in the Budget on 21 March, after David Cameron backed Nick Clegg’s call for tougher action to ensure that large companies pay their ‘fair share’ of tax.
Speaking to small business owners and entrepreneurs in Maidenhead yesterday, the Prime Minister said: ‘For the large companies that have the fancy corporate lawyers, I think we need a tougher approach. One of the things we’re going to be looking at this year is whether there should be a more general anti-avoidance power that HMRC can use, particularly on very wealthy individuals and on the bigger companies, to make sure they pay their fair share.’
The May 2010 coalition agreement committed the government to ‘make every effort to tackle tax avoidance, including detailed development of Liberal Democrat proposals’.
