Loan charges

Half facing loan charge yet to settle Almost half of the self-employed consultants caught up in HMRC’s loan charge crackdown are yet to settle. Figures show that 26,800 of the 50,000 people set to be hit by the charge on disguised remuneration tax avoidance schemes have registered to settle ahead of the impending cut-off. Those failing to settle before the April 5 deadline will be hit by the loan charge, which taxes all outstanding loans in one year and must be paid by January 2020. Sir Ed Davey, chair of a parliamentary panel investigating the issue, says evidence suggests that “people have had wholly inadequate notice from HMRC.” HMRC’s director general Ruth Stanier has defended the Revenue in a letter to the panel, saying some claims made about the loan charge are “unfounded” and that bankruptcy would only be used as a last resort.