The Powers Oversight Forum is the main check on the way HMRC uses its wide-ranging powers provided by FA 2008 Sch 36. It is essential that the Forum remains in place for the foreseeable future.
The Powers Review has been driven from start to finish by HMRC in contrast to the Keith Committee’s independent review of the Inland Revenue’s enforcement powers in the 1980s.
It is true to say that HMRC has sought the views of stakeholders outside the department (through the Powers Consultative Committee and otherwise) and indeed that it has been willing to take on board some of the issues that stakeholders have raised along the way.
It is also true to...
