Tax ruling
13 September 2012
Thousands of contractors using offshore schemes to cut tax are facing a clampdown after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) won a High Court ruling to allow it recover tax retrospectively, warns Giant Group, the contractor services provider.
Following a High Court ruling on 28 January, HMRC can introduce anti-avoidance measures that apply tax retrospectively. This means that any offshore scheme marketed as legitimate could be made retrospectively illegal, leaving contractors having to pay tax backdated for many years.