HMRC is proposing significant changes to the way it tackles those it believes have participated in an avoidance scheme and those that facilitate clients’ participation in avoidance schemes, the so-called enablers. Draft legislation is being introduced in Finance Bill 2017 to amend the current penalty legislation where there are errors in documents. There are also plans to introduce new penalties for enablers of defeated tax avoidance.

The current regime for civil penalties for inaccuracies is contained mainly within schedule 24 of Finance Act 2007. As a reminder of the basic penalties for errors, a penalty is payable where a person gives HMRC a document, and