Sir Andrew Park, a retired judge who has been involved in many leading tax cases – including Arctic Systems and several well-known corporation tax appeals – will provide tax expertise to assist the National Audit Office in a detailed review of five of HMRC’s largest tax settlements.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) warned on 20 December that ‘systemic issues’ surrounding HMRC’s handling of tax disputes must be addressed with ‘the utmost urgency’. A proper separation between negotiation of tax settlements and their authorisation was needed, and HMRC ‘must address issues of accountability so that Parliament and the public can be satisfied that the best value is secured’, the committee said.
