HMRC abusive tax avoidance rule 'at odds with rule of law' - law firm

A consultation on the GAAR, specifically targeted against artificial and abusive tax avoidance schemes, was released by the government yesterday. Neal Todd, corporate tax partner at City law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner said: "Whatever the merits of the government's policy to target ‘highly abusive' and ‘contrived' tax planning, it is vital that any GAAR not act as a deterrent to the middle ground of sensible tax planning. "The draft clauses announced by the government yesterday illustrate just how difficult this is going to be to achieve in practice." He added the double reasonabl...