HMRC has announced details of the first appointments to the General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) advisory panel, as the new rules passed into law this month.
Chair of the panel is Patrick Mears, whose appointment was announced in April. He is senior tax partner at law firm Allen & Overy.
He will be joined by Michael Hardwick, a corporate tax specialist at lawyers Linklaters; Brian Jackson, vice president group tax at luxury goods supplier Burberry; Sue Laing, partner at law firm Boodle Hatfield; and Gary Shiels, who is a business consultant to SMEs.
There are also two panel members from the accountancy profession: Bob Wheatcroft, who is a partner at Armstrong Watson, and David Heaton, a Baker Tilly specialist employment taxes partner.
Joe Burnie, Baker Tilly's head of tax, said, 'I am extremely pleased that David's experience has been recognised by way of appointment to this important and responsible role. The GAAR will have a major impact on the UK tax system and I'm delighted that David will have a role within that.'
The role of the independent GAAR advisory panel is to approve HMRC guidance, and to provide opinions on cases where HMRC considers the GAAR may apply.
The appointments announced today are for the permanent positions on the panel. Earlier in the year, HMRC made interim appointments to the advisory panel to approve the guidance published with the Finance Bill. The interim appointees included Bill Dodwell, head of tax policy, Deloitte tax partner, and Francesca Lagerberg, head of tax, Grant Thornton.
