HMRC officials to face Lords committee questions on the loan charge

This evidence session follows up on the work carried out by the Economic Affairs Finance Bill Sub-Committee in December 2020.

This session will be held remotely and streamed on Parliament TV.

At 10:00am the Committee will hear from:

• Jim Harra, Chief Executive and Permanent Secretary, HMRC
• Mary Aiston, Director of Counter Avoidance, HMRC.

Question they are likely to face include:

• In a recent FOI disclosure the permanent secretary of HMRC was quoted as saying that he found it difficult to understand the basis for the HMRC position that loan schemes had never worked. If the permanent secretary of HMRC felt this, how were ordinary taxpayers expected to know?
• The Finance Bill Sub Committee voiced concerns about umbrella companies in 2018 and 2020. Yet an increasing number of taxpayers are still being drawn into disguised remuneration schemes and rogue umbrella companies. Why, two years on, are the same problems arising?
• Is there any evidence that the new Finance Act powers is impacting promoter behaviour - for example are any of the remaining hardcore promoters exiting the UK market?
• What action has been taken (outside HMRC Spotlights) to warn taxpayers of new schemes? What is being done to protect workers, particularly those on lower incomes, from unwittingly getting caught up in these schemes?
• In June 2020, HMRC told the committee it was starting to use real-time intervention to detect possible scheme usage and follow up with taxpayers. Is it enough to contact taxpayers thought to be already caught up in disguised remuneration schemes? How can HMRC tackle the source of the problem rather than the consequences?

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