The APPG on responsible tax: a dangerous approach

In the film adaptation of John Grisham’s The Firm Gene Hackman’s Avery Tolar demonstrates a bleak legal realism when he challenges his new associate: ‘The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is: (a) whatever the IRS says (b) a smart lawyer (c) ten years in prison or (d) all of the above?’ The story ends with those smart lawyers in prison.

So too would be the fate of plenty of tax advisers were the proposals of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax (APPG) taken up. The report Putting a stop to the tax fraud game: how ‘legal avoidance’ means getting away with tax fraud and what needs to be done...