Insider blows the whistle on multi-million pound tax avoidance 'factory'

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Failed tax avoidance business Welbeck hired young actors to push schemes onto City big earners, and reaped millions in commissions that fuelled lifestyles of fast cars and exotic holidays, according to a whistleblower who worked at the firm.

Welbeck Solutions sold pensions and financial products, but it specialised in tax avoidance schemes such as Icebreaker and Liberty, which have since been banned by HMRC and tax tribunals. Celebrities including Take That's Gary Barlow and Mark Owen used the schemes, and have in some cases have been forced to repay hundreds of thousands of pounds. But Welbeck's biggest targets were City investment bankers, according to a whistleblower who spoke to the Independent newspaper. The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has agreed to deal with tax avoidance cases where there is an...

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