UK and International Tax news

Avoidance Study Group

Monday 17th January 2011

Further to the ministerial announcement in December that a study group would be set up to explore the case for a general anti avoidance rule [GAAR] in the UK, Graham Aaronson QC has now notified the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke, of the experts who will work on his study into a GAAR, and the areas they will cover.
Those working with Graham Aaronson in the committee will be

• John Bartlett , Group Head of Tax, BP Plc
• Judith Freedman, Professor of Taxation Law and Director of Legal Research, Centre for Business Taxation, Oxford University
• Sir Launcelot Henderson, Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice
• Lord Hoffmann, formerly Lord of Appeal, Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong
• Howard Nowlan, formerly Tax Partner at Slaughter and May, part time Judge of the First Tier Tax Tribunal
• John Tiley CBE, Emeritus Professor of the Law of Taxation, Director of the Centre for Tax Law, Cambridge University

Topics which the committee will look at include:

• consideration of existing experience with GAARs and other anti avoidance principles in other jurisdictions;

• what a UK GAAR could usefully achieve; and
• what the basic approach of a GAAR should be.

The study group will complete its work by the 31st October 2011 and will report its conclusions to the Exchequer Secretary. The Government has stated that they would not introduce a GAAR without further formal public consultation.

If you would like further information on the above, please contact Keith Rushen on 0044 (0)20 7486 2378.

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