CH176120 | Sanctionable conduct by tax advisers: reason for the legislation

Tax advisers are people who, in the course of a business, assist other people with their tax affairs. In large, they perform a vital role in the tax system by helping to ensure returns are accurate. However, there are a small number of tax advisers who engage in “sanctionable conduct”; that is, they intentionally seek to facilitate a loss of tax revenue in the tax affairs of their clients.

We need to:

• identify what is sanctionable conduct

• gather information about the tax adviser’s advice to their clients

• identify the scale of the sanctionable conduct

• reward co-operation and disclosure

• penalise sanctionable conduct when it occurs

• make clients, potential clients and other tax advisers aware of the sanctioned tax adviser’s conduct by publishing information online

The powers in Schedule 38 to FA2012 (as amended) help us to do this.

FA12/SCH38 as amended