Another blow for tax avoiders

The Budget measures included a new provision that will require people using tax avoidance schemes to pay their tax up front and get it back only if their scheme is judged legal by the courts.

HMRC will have new powers to take the money from people’s bank accounts. The Guardian reported that HMRC estimated that 33,000 wealthy tax avoiders might have as much as £5 billion in ‘disputed payments’ that it could try to collect using these powers.