CIL Group Ltd

HM Treasury has announced the names of the members of the new committee set up to work on a UK General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) and the areas that it will cover. This is part of the Government’s commitment to tackling tax avoidance and building sustainable defences to address long-standing avoidance risks.

Those working with Graham Aaronson, QC, in the committee are: John Bartlett (Group Head of Tax, BP), Judith Freedman (Professor of Taxation Law and Director of Legal Research, Centre for Business Taxation, Oxford University), Sir Launcelot Henderson (Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice), Lord Hoffmann (formerly Lord of Appeal, Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong), Howard Nowlan (formerly Tax Partner at Slaughter and May, part-time Judge of the First Tier Tax Tribunal) and John Tiley (Emeritus Professor of the Law of Taxation, Director of the Centre for Tax Law, Cambridge University.

Topics which the committee will look at include consideration of existing experience with GAARs and other anti-avoidance principles in other jurisdictions; what a UK GAAR could usefully achieve; and what the basic approach of a GAAR should be.

The study group will complete its work by the October 31, 2011 and will report its conclusions to the Exchequer Secretary, David Gauke, who said: "We are committed to tackling tax avoidance. I’m delighted that Graham Aaronson and his study group will be bringing their collective expertise to bear on whether a General Anti Avoidance Rule could deter and counter tax avoidance, whilst providing certainty, retaining a tax regime that is attractive to businesses, and minimizing costs for businesses and HMRC. I very much look forward to receiving his conclusions later this year."