Time limit extension creates uncertainty

Concerns about HMRC’s proposal to extend the tax assessment time limits to at least 12 years in cases involving offshore matters have been raised by the tax bodies. The Chartered Institute of Taxation believes that the case for such a large and broadly applied increase has not been made and risks resulting in unfairness for taxpayers and perverse incentives towards the care taken with tax returns.

John Cullinane CIOT tax policy director said: ‘It is perverse that this proposal comes when HMRC has access to a bigger armoury to deal with offshore non-compliance than at any time in the past. It receives very large amounts of taxpayer data through exchange of information agreements with overseas tax jurisdictions and has showcased powerful internal systems to analyse the data. Public and media opinion fuelled by recent data leaks may not have caught up with this fundamental change but...