Advisers to face tougher tax avoidance penalties

Treasury consultation released

clock • 1 min read

Advisers or accountants who help clients avoid tax in ways that were never intended face tough penalties under new rules from the Treasury, the BBC reports.

The rules, laid out in a consultation due to be released today, will levy a fine of 100% of the tax that was avoided, the report said. It added off-shore tax havens would be included. The report said the rules would "root out" tax avoidance at source and make it simpler to enforce penalties when avoidance schemes are defeated. It added at present tax advisers face little risk while clients face penalties if they lose court cases. Financial Secretary to the Treasury Jane Ellison said: "These tough new sanctions will make would-be enablers think twice and in turn reduce the number of s...

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