GAAR shines spotlight on 'extreme' tax avoidance

GAAR guidance was published alongside the Finance Bill in March 2013 and works in addition to existing tax avoidance legislation by further defining the principles of "tax arrangements" and "abuse". Tax Research director Richard Murphy (pictured), who worked with government on the guidance, told the PIRC annual corporate governance conference that GAAR would result in a "very different" environment for companies looking to limit tax exposure. GAAR is built around a ‘double reasonableness' test, as well as properly defining concepts of tax compliance, legitimate tax planning, avoidance...