Nick Clegg and David Cameron have said they want to do more to stop tax avoidance by big companies.
The deputy PM told BBC Radio 4's Today programme he hoped there would be progress on an "anti-avoidance" tax rule in the Budget on 21 March.
The prime minister also said a "tougher approach" was needed towards large firms with "fancy corporate lawyers".
Seeing is believing
And thus it came to pass ........................
Barclays Bank has been ordered by the Treasury to pay half-a-billion pounds in tax which it had tried to avoid. Barclays was accused by HM Revenue and Customs of designing and using two schemes that were intended to avoid substantial amounts of tax.
The government has taken the unusual step of introducing retrospective legislationto end such "aggressive tax avoidance" by financial institutions. Tax rules forced the bank to tell the authorities about its plans.
The government has closed the schemes to retrieve £500m of lost tax and safeguard payments of billions of more tax in the future.
So the retrospective legislation means what they were doing/proposing was legal then ?
All highly embarrassing for Barclays, because Britain's big banks have all signed a code committing them not to engage in tax avoidance, under rules which have been in place since 2004.
"The bank that disclosed these schemes to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has adopted the Banking Code of Practice on Taxation which contains a commitment not to engage in tax avoidance", David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury adding, "We do not take today's action lightly, but the potential tax loss from this scheme and the history of previous abuse in this area mean that this is a circumstance where the decision to change the law with full retrospective effect is justified."
In a separate development, HMRC said it would appoint a senior official to act as an "Assurance Commissioner" for any tax deals struck with big companies for more than £100m. The job of the Commissioner will be to make sure taxpayers in general do not suffer from any such settlements.
The move follows severe criticism last December from MPs on the Public Accounts Committee who denounced HMRC for appearing to cut contentious tax deals with companies such as Vodafone and Goldman Sachs.
Lizakeanrob,
Or Barclays just fallen foul of the 2004 and 2009 Tax Legislation pre-coalitionperhaps ?
