‘Charge needs more scrutiny’

MP says Treasury’s role needs to be looked into

ONE OF the candidates to become chairman of a major Parliamentary Committee has said the Treasury’s role in developing the loan charge is a “very relevant subject” for further scrutiny.

Kevin Hollinrake MP was responding to a call from the AllParty Parliamentary Group on the Loan Charge (APPG) for the next chair of the Treasury Committee to lead an inquiry into the loan charge and “properly scrutinise” the role of Treasury and HMRC.

Mr Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk, Malton & Filey, told The Yorkshire Post via Twitter: “It is a very relevant subject for TSC (the Treasury Committee), particularly given concerns about the independence of the current inquiry.”

Apart from Mr Hollinrake, two other MPs have been nominated for election as the new chair of the Treasury Committee, Harriett Baldwin and Mark Garnier.

The Treasury Select Committee is a cross-party group of MPs appointed by the House Of Commons to scrutinise the work of the Treasury.

The APPG has also welcomed its 183rd member, Marion Fellows MP. In a tweet, the APPG said: “183 Parliamentarians yet HMRC continue to pursue people despite seven loan charge suicides.

“We need an immediate suspension of the loan charge and all related activity including APNs (accelerated payment notices).”

The APPG recently wrote to Sir Amyas Morse, who is leading the Loan Charge Review, stating that the group has been informed of another suicide of someone facing the charge.

The APPG said: “This is the seventh suicide of someone facing the loan charge that has been reported to and confirmed to the Loan Charge APPG.”

Opponents of the loan charge argue that it is retrospective and overrides taxpayer protections – claims which have previously

been disputed by the Treasury.

A review has been commissioned into the loan charge after hundreds of MPs expressed concerns about the policy.

The loan charge was introduced in response to the Treasury’s concerns about ‘disguised remuneration schemes’ which involved individuals being paid through loans, usually via an offshore trust in a low or no tax jurisdiction, which they did not have to repay.

Workers from a wide range of professions have been hit with large tax bills, which in some cases date back to 1999.