Anti-Avoidance Group

Welcome to HMRC's Anti Avoidance Group (AAG) pages.

Tax avoidance remains a substantial threat to the Exchequer and the AAG has been established to co-ordinate HMRC's anti-avoidance activity in a systematic manner.

News

Simplifying anti-avoidance legislation

HMRC has today published an update report on the Anti-Avoidance Simplification Review. The objective of the review is to consider how anti-avoidance legislation can best meet the twin aims of simplicity and revenue protection. This update follows on from the earlier progress report published at Budget 08, and focuses on three areas of the review: Transactions in Securities, certain rules relating to shares acquired by employees and greater alignment of the various unallowable purposes' tests. It also offers the opportunity to provide feedback.

This update report (PDF 54K) is also available in PDF format. To view a PDF document you must have a PDF reader installed on your computer. Adobe Reader is provided for download.

VAT: Partial Exemption - launch of consultation

A consultation has been launched on ideas to simplify the VAT partial exemption rules to reduce compliance costs for businesses. The consultation invites comments and suggestions on the three partial exemption areas identified as simplification priorities by businesses and on possibly combining partial exemption and business/non-business calculations. Businesses and representative bodies are invited to respond to the consultation document. Business Brief 30/08 - provides further background information (19 June 2008).

In November 2007 AAG published a consultation document 'The Tax Avoidance Disclosure Regime: Improving the Scheme Reference Number System'. Following a very constructive consultation period we have now published a response document summarising the main comments received and how they have been followed up in Finance Bill 2008. An updated Impact Assessment has also been published alongside this document (09 June 2008).