Jonathan Burt comments in Bloomberg Tax about HMRC’s consultation on the Uncertain Tax Treatment regime
min readThe UK government is consulting on proposals to widen the scope of its Uncertain Tax Treatment regime, extending reporting requirements beyond large businesses to certain high net worth individuals. The changes would introduce an obligation to disclose tax positions considered to involve 'uncertain legal interpretations', potentially broadening the range of matters subject to disclosure.
Under the proposals, individuals would be required to report relevant tax arrangements where a tax advantage exceeds £5 million, with the regime also planned to apply across additional areas including Stamp Duty Land Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Inheritance Tax.
As part of the consultation, tax practitioners have indicated that further clarification may be needed on the circumstances in which disclosures should be made to HMRC. In particular, there is concern that limited guidance on what constitutes uncertainty could lead to increased compliance obligations.
Jonathan Burt, Partner in our Private Client team, comments in Bloomberg Tax:
... if you don’t know what HMRC thinks or if they haven’t published any clear guidance on the matter, then it becomes inherently uncertain in and of itself as to whether or not a tax advantage might be in point.
Read the full article in Bloomberg Tax here (subscription required).
