As anticipated, legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2013 for a General Anti-abuse Rule to "counteract tax advantages arising from abusive tax avoidance schemes". The measure will apply to
As anticipated, legislation will be introduced in Finance Bill 2013 for a General Anti-abuse Rule to "counteract tax advantages arising from abusive tax avoidance schemes". The measure will apply to tax arrangements entered into on or after Royal Assent to Finance Bill 2013. Separate NICs legislation will be introduced after the Royal Assent to Finance Bill 2013, when parliamentary time allows.
The effectiveness of the measure will be monitored through, inter alia: "the number of potential GAAR cases identified, how many of those cases are authorised for counteraction under the GAAR with a separate record of cases successfully litigated or settled by agreement using a GAAR challenge." It will be interesting to see how many cases are authorised for counteraction. This will demonstrate whether HMRC consider that GAAR is a "broad spectrum antibiotic" or, alternatively, is a measure focused on counteracting only the most egregious examples of abusive structures. If the latter, then no cases being authorised for counteraction would demonstrate the effectiveness of the measure (as a deterrent).
The effectiveness of the measure will be monitored through, inter alia: "the number of potential GAAR cases identified, how many of those cases are authorised for counteraction under the GAAR with a separate record of cases successfully litigated or settled by agreement using a GAAR challenge." It will be interesting to see how many cases are authorised for counteraction. This will demonstrate whether HMRC consider that GAAR is a "broad spectrum antibiotic" or, alternatively, is a measure focused on counteracting only the most egregious examples of abusive structures. If the latter, then no cases being authorised for counteraction would demonstrate the effectiveness of the measure (as a deterrent).