Tax avoiders face massive penalties after landmark Montpelier case

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Tax avoiders who try to use complicated schemes to cut their bills could face huge penalties after a landmark legal case.

A tax tribunal found that two company directors had been ‘negligent' in joining an avoidance scheme, the Daily Mail reports. The case adds will bolster the efforts of tax authorities, who are staging a wide-ranging clampdown on avoidance and targeting boutique accountancy firms that sell tax plans. In the past, those entering into avoidance schemes have only had to face the risk that the plans did not work and consequently having to pay the tax they had been trying to avoid. This made joining a tax scheme a one-way bet. Many schemes have been struck down by tribunals, with the memb...

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