Richard Jeens (Slaughter and May) gives an overview of the significant changes in the rules governing tax disputes in the last year or two and considers where this leaves taxpayers now, whether as part of active disputes, an M&A transaction or day to day business.
The last two years have seen many changes to the 
rules
governing tax disputes and an expansion of HMRC’s powers to tackle tax avoidance. The effects of these changes will be long lasting and wide ranging not only for ‘tax avoiders’ but all taxpayers. What has driven these changes? Top of the list for most commentators is the unprecedented pressure on HMRC to tackle tax avoidance (whether actual or perceived). The recent media coverage of different tax authorities’ responses to the offer of using customer data to...
