Recent disclosures to HM Revenue and Customs indicate that individuals are claiming relief against income tax for manufactured payments that are paid using tax avoidance schemes and that substantial sums of tax are at risk.

Tax avoidance is unfair on the majority of taxpayers and can undermine the funding of public services. The Government are determined to take appropriate and prompt action to counter avoidance. Therefore the Government propose to introduce appropriate legislation in Finance Bill 2008 that will be effective from today, 31 January 2008.

A draft of the material that will be contained in Finance Bill 2008, together with draft explanatory notes and background material, will be published today on HMRC’s website at: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk.