Speed Read: HMRC disbanded its Complex Personal Tax Teams in April 2009 replacing them with a unit dedicated to the affairs of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) and with a brief to create an environment where the relationship with its customers and the tax profession was one based on trust and collaboration rather than confrontation. This article concludes that despite the significant economic and political changes experienced over the last 12 months and the publication of an OECD report advocating particular attention be paid to the aggressive tax planning activities of HNWIs, the unit has not been deflected from its intended approach. However, as the creation of the unit has required significant reorganisation within HMRC it is only now that taxpayers and their advisers are beginning to witness the changes the new order may bring.
