Tax advisers could face £1m fines in HMRC crackdown

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is launching a major new crackdown on tax avoidance targeting the advisers and promoters of avoidance schemes - and plans penalties of up to £1m.

In a consultation out today HMRC lays out its plans to identify publicly those it calls "high-risk" promoters of avoidance schemes, isolating them from "mainstream" advisers. A spokesperson for the Treasury said financial advisers could be designated high-risk promoters and so would be liable for the £1m fine. The Revenue service wants to use its powers to get early information about their products and make it clear to their customers who they are dealing with. It is proposing that the initial penalty on the high-risk promoter could be up to £1m with a continuing failure penalty of...