The Chancellor announced a package of proposals aimed at cracking down on the historic and continued use of disguised remuneration avoidance schemes, including EBT arrangements.

HMRC has now published a technical note and costings for the first tranche of measures. These include a targeted anti-avoidance rule which took effect on 16 March 2016 and a measure to remove a transitional relief on investment returns after 30 November 2016.

The relief was intended to work alongside the EBT settlement opportunity, which closed on 31 July 2015. Anyone who has not settled with HMRC on or before 30 November 2016 will not qualify for the relief.

There are also three minor technical clarifications. These are designed to ensure that the same disguised remuneration cannot be taxable on more than one person at the same time; to clarify an interaction between a relief that prevents double taxation and the payment of an accelerated payment; and to repeal an expired power to make secondary legislation.

HMRC says there will be further legislation will follow in Finance Bill 2017 to put beyond any doubt that schemes which result in a loan or other debt being owed by an employee to the third party, whatever the intervening steps, are within the scope of the disguised remuneration rules.

According to HMRC’s analysis, the measures announced so far are set to bring in £100m in extra tax in 2016/17, increasing to £335m in 2017/18 and £645m in 2018/19, and peaking at £1.235bn in 2019/20, with £215m of extra tax expected in 2020/21.

The long-running Rangers FC EBT case is now going to the Supreme Court following HMRC's recent win at the Court of Appeal. Murray Group Holdings, the operater of the scheme, is determined to beat the taxman on this contentious issue as they take the case to the highest court in the land. 

Details on Policy paper on tackling disguised remuneration are here