GAAR panel members interim only, says HMRC

30 Jan 2013

Deloitte and Grant Thornton tax heavyweights sitting on the interim General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) advisory panel, will be given no preference when it comes to the appointment of the permanent lineup to take over in April, HMRC has confirmed.

According to the tax department, the panel, only announced last week - to oversee the introduction of a GAAR - will be eligible for inclusion on the permanent GAAR panel, but ultimately the decision will be with the chair and the commissioners.

HMRC has also confirmed that recruitment for the permanent chair - who will replace outgoing interim chair, Graham Aaronson QC - is currently underway and will be announced in a month's time.

Initially, Aaronson's replacement was due to be announced earlier this month but was subsequently put back.

An HMRC spokesperson said: 'We anticipate announcing the chair appointment towards the end of February or early March. Once appointed the chair will lead the work to find suitable people for the panel and make recommendations to the commissioners. The interim appointees may wish to be considered, but they have no priority over anyone else.'

HMRC will provide admin and secretariat support to the panel, but will not be part of considering the cases themselves.

On the recommendation of Aaronson, the commissioners for HMRC have appointed the following to the interim GAAR panel:

Graham Aaronson QC (chair);

John Barnett, partner and joint head of corporate tax, Burges Salmon;

John Bartlett, head of group tax, BP and member of CBI tax committee;

Emma Chamberlain, barrister, Pump Court Tax Chambers;

Robert Clayton. group tax director, RSA Insurance Group;

Bill Dodwell, head of tax policy, Deloitte LLP;

Steve Edge, corporate tax partner, Slaughter and May;

Francesca Lagerberg, head of tax, Grant Thornton;

Dr David McNair, principal economic justice adviser, Christian Aid;

Richard Murphy, head, Tax Research UK;