Extension to the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes to require the Disclosure of Certain Pension Scheme Arrangements (August 2009)

The Government has announced its intention to restrict, to the basic rate of income tax, tax relief on pensions savings with effect from 6 April 2011, for people with a taxable income of £150,000 or more. Finance Act 2009 introduced a Special Annual Allowance Charge (SAAC) which is an anti-forestalling provision which seeks to restrict pensions tax relief for those high income individuals who increase their savings above their normal pattern of savings ahead of 6 April 2011 (see Budget Note 47). The Disclosure Regime has been amended to add in a new description to secure the disclosure of any schemes that seek to avoid the special annual allowance charge (SAAC) introduced in Finance Act 2009. [Regulations SI2009/2033 (Opens new window)] have been made and laid and will come into effect on 1 September 2009. However, a transitional rule will require disclosure of schemes where the event that triggers a disclosure, under the normal rules, occurs between 23 April and 31 August 2009 inclusive. Updated guidance is published alongside these regulations.