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Written question asked by Lord Sikka (Labour) on Wednesday, 17 March 2021, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 31 March 2021. It was answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 31 March 2021 on behalf of the Treasury.

EY: Tax Avoidance

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the judgment by the Court of Appeal in the case of GDF Suez Teesside Led v Revenue And Customs [2018] EWCA Civ 2075 on 5 October 2018, what action they have taken, if any, against Ernst & Young for designing and marketing an unlawful tax avoidance scheme.

Answer

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) cannot comment on individual cases. HMRC will investigate allegations of wrongdoing brought to their attention.

The Government is determined to tackle promoters and enablers of tax avoidance schemes and in March 2020, HMRC published their strategy for tackling promoters of tax avoidance schemes. The strategy outlines how HMRC will continue to take robust actions against promoters and enablers of tax avoidance.

Finance Bill 2021 includes new measures which will strengthen the existing anti-avoidance regimes and help HMRC act more swiftly against promoters. The Government has also announced a further package of measures to ensure promoters face stronger sanctions more quickly; the consultation was published on 23 March.

These proposals build on the enablers of defeated tax avoidance legislation that was introduced in 2017 and include provision for the publication of information, including the name of the enabler and the total number and amount of penalties incurred by the enabler, if they have been charged 50 or more penalties or £25,000 in penalties in any one year.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL14346
Session
2019-21
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Tax avoidance EY
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk