Tax Avoidance:Written question - 908142

Source: WhatDoTheyKnow
Authority: HM Treasury
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SOURCE: WhatDoTheyKnow
SOURCE_URL: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/tax_avoidancewritten_question_90
TITLE: Tax Avoidance:Written question - 908142
AUTHORITY: HM Treasury
AUTHORITY_URL: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/hm_treasury
STATUS: The request was
partially successful
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REQUEST_SLUG: tax_avoidancewritten_question_90
CAPTURED_AT: 2026-05-19T07:12:13+00:00
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MESSAGE 1 [outgoing]
HEADER: Christopher Smith
13 December 2018
Delivered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Her Majesty’s Treasury,
As part of the answer to Tax Avoidance:Written question - 908142, MP Mel Stride said "An impact assessment was published when the measure was announced at Budget 2016."
Both question and answer can be found here:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publi
...
Please provide:
1) a copy of the impact assessment that was published when the measure was announced at Budget 2016.
2) any Treasury documents which provide more detail on that impact assessment.
Yours faithfully,
Christopher Smith

================================================================================
MESSAGE 2 [incoming]
HEADER: FOI Requests,
        HM Treasury
13 December 2018
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your email.  This is an automatic acknowledgement to confirm
that we have received your communication safely.  Please do not reply to
this email.
Please note that this mailbox is only for requests made under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOI).
Other enquiries should be sent to the following email address
[1][
email address
]
This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the
use of the individual(s) to whom they are addressed. If you are not the
intended recipient and have received this email in error, please notify
the sender and delete the email. This footnote also confirms that our
email communications may be monitored to ensure the secure and effective
operation of our systems and for other lawful purposes, and that this
email has been swept for malware and viruses.
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[
email address
]

================================================================================
MESSAGE 3 [incoming]
HEADER: FOI Requests,
        HM Treasury
13 December 2018
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your request for information which we are considering under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
This is to confirm receipt of your request and to let you know that it is receiving attention. If you have any enquiries regarding your request do not hesitate to contact us.
Please note: HM Treasury has a dedicated email address for the public to make Freedom of Information requests: [HM Treasury request email]
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Unit | Correspondence and Information Rights | HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ
www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
show quoted sections

================================================================================
MESSAGE 4 [incoming]
HEADER: FOI Requests,
        HM Treasury
14 January 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Attachment
FOI2018 22341 Copy for requester 2019 01 14.pdf
2.0M
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Download
Dear Mr Smith
Please find attached a letter in response to your Freedom of Information
request.
For ease of reference, the attached letter contains the following
clickable hyperlinks:
[1]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
[2]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
[3]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Unit | HM Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A
2HQ   [4]www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the
use of the individual(s) to whom they are addressed. If you are not the
intended recipient and have received this email in error, please notify
the sender and delete the email. This footnote also confirms that our
email communications may be monitored to ensure the secure and effective
operation of our systems and for other lawful purposes, and that this
email has been swept for malware and viruses.
References
Visible links
1.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
2.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
3.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
4.
http://www.gov.uk/hm-treasury

================================================================================
MESSAGE 5 [outgoing]
HEADER: Christopher Smith
5 February 2019
Delivered
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Her Majesty’s Treasury,
Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.
I am writing to request an internal review of Her Majesty’s Treasury's handling of my FOI request 'Tax Avoidance:Written question - 908142'.
I am requesting an internal review based on the Government's very clear intention that in the instance of this particular legislation there is more transparency required around the impact of the effects.
The second part of my question that asked you to provide "any Treasury documents which provide more detail on that impact assessment" was withheld under the exemption 35(1)(a) under the FOI Act- formulation or development of Government policy.
The answer to part one of my question links to the impact assessment which states "Impact on individuals, households and families - The measure is not expected to impact on family formation, stability or breakdown."
In the response to a Freedom of Information request found at
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...
, HMRC state
"the impact assessment was across the entire UK population.", and
"The policy paper says that the measure 'is not expected to have a material impact on family formation, stability or breakdown'. No estimate of the number of individuals affected by a breakdown of their family was produced. The policy paper assesses the impact of the loan charge across the entire UK population, of which affected DR tax avoidance scheme users make up a very small minority"
As the government has agreed, in an amendment to the Finance Bill, to review the effects of the extension to offshore time limits in comparison with the time limits for the loan charge there is an inherent public interest to show HM Treasury being transparent and open to scrutiny by releasing the information the Treasury holds on this matter. This would enable the public to determine how an impact assessment on the entire UK population, before the aforementioned review has been completed, could accurately measure the effect on individuals impacted by the 2019 Loan Charge.
A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address:
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/t...
Yours faithfully,
Christopher Smith

================================================================================
MESSAGE 7 [incoming]
HEADER: FOI Requests,
        HM Treasury
5 February 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr Smith
Thank you for your email regarding your request for an internal review.
I can confirm that your review request was received on 5 February 2019 and
is receiving attention under our reference R11/19.
There is no statutory deadline for responding to internal review requests.
However, in line with the Information Commissioner’s guidelines and the
[1]2018 FOI Code of Practice, we aim to complete  internal reviews within
20 working days.
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Unit | Correspondence and Information Rights | HM
Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ
www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
show quoted sections

================================================================================
MESSAGE 8 [incoming]
HEADER: FOI Requests,
        HM Treasury
30 July 2019
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Attachment
Scan.pdf
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Dear Mr Smith
Please find attached HM Treasury’s internal review response.
I have copied below the links to published information referenced in the
response letter.
[1]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
[2]
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
Yours sincerely
Information Rights Unit | Correspondence and Information Rights Team | HM
Treasury, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ  [3]www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the
use of the individual(s) to whom they are addressed. If you are not the
intended recipient and have received this email in error, please notify
the sender and delete the email. This footnote also confirms that our
email communications may be monitored to ensure the secure and effective
operation of our systems and for other lawful purposes, and that this
email has been swept for malware and viruses.
References
Visible links
1.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
2.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...
3.
http://www.gov.uk/hm-treasury

================================================================================
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22 
Information Rights Unit
SEO
HM Treasury
1 Horse Guards Road
HM Treasury 
London
SW1A 2HQ
Mr Christopher Smith 
020 7270 5000
foirequests@hmtreasury.gov.uk
www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
14 January 2019
Ref: FOI2018/22341
Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information Act 2000: Disguised Remuneration
Thank you for your enquiry of 13 December 2018, which we have considered under the
terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOI Act).
You asked for the following information:
As part of the answer to Tax Avoidance: Written question - 908142, MP Mel Stride
said "An impact assessment was published when the measure was announced at
Budget 2016."
Please provide:
“1) a copy of the impact assessment that was published when the measure was
announced at Budget 2016.
2) any Treasury documents which provide more detail on that impact assessment.”
| can confirm that HM Treasury does hold information within the scope of your request.
The copy of the impact assessment that was published when the measure was announced
at Budget 2016 is publicly available. Under section 21 of the FOI Act, public authorities are
not obliged to re-issue information where it is already publicly accessible.
To be helpful, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) published a summary of impacts at Budget
2016 which can be found on gov.uk:
https:/Awww.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-disquised-remuneration/tackling-
disguised-remuneration
HMRC has also published a Tax information and impact note (TIIN) which provides more
detail and can be found on gov.uk:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-disquised-remuneration-
update/tackling-disquised-remuneration-update
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disquised-remuneration-further-update
Following a search of our records, | can confirm that HM Treasury does hold information
within scope of the second part of your request. However, we consider that the
information that we have identified engages the exemption at section 35(1)(a)

--- PDF page 2 ---
_ (formulation or development of Government policy) under the FOI Act. This is a qualified
exemption and we are required to balance the public interest between disclosure and non-
disclosure.
In relation to the release of this information, we recognise that there is an inherent public
interest in transparency and accountability of public authorities. We also recognise the
broad public interest in furthering public understanding of the issues which public
authorities deal with. There is a clear public interest in the work of government
departments being transparent and open to scrutiny to increase diligence.
Balanced against this is the public interest in protecting the government's ability to discuss
and develop policies and to reach well-formed conclusions. The Information
Commissioner has recognised that policy development needs some degree of freedom to
enable the process to work effectively and we consider that there is a strong public
interest in protecting information where release would be likely to have a detrimental
impact on the ongoing development of policy. There is a strong public interest in
protecting against encroachment on the ability of ministers and officials to formulate and
develop policy options freely and frankly.
In this case, we consider that disclosing the information held, would or would be likely to 
-
prevent officials conducting rigorous and candid assessments of the options available to
them, and that disclosure would risk closing-off discussions and the development of better
options now and in the future. On balance, we consider that the public interest in 
|
withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosure.
If you have any queries about this letter, please contact us. Please quote the reference
number above in any future communications.
Yours sincerely
ARV
Information Rights Unit

--- PDF page 3 ---
Copyright notice
Most documents HM Treasury supplies in response to a Freedom of Information request,
including this letter, continue to be protected by Crown copyright. This is because they will
have been produced by Government officials as part of their work. You are free to use
these documents for your information, for any non-commercial research you may be doing
and for news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, will require
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Archives and you can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown copyright
material at: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re- using- public-
sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/crown-copyright/
Your right to complain under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
If you are not happy with this reply, you can request a review by writing to HM Treasury,
Information Rights Unit, 
1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ or by emailing us at the
address below. Any review request must be made within 2 months of the date of this
letter.
Email: foirequests@hmtreasury.gov.uk
It would assist our review if you set out which aspects of the reply concern you and why
you are dissatisfied.
If you are not content with the outcome of the review, you may apply directly to the
Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Commissioner will not make a
decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by HM Treasury
which is outlined above.
The Information Commissioner can be contacted at: The Information Commiésioner’s
Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF (or via their website at:
https://ico.org.uk).

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1 Horse Guards Road
Information Rights Unit
HM Treasury
HM Treasury 
London
SW1A 2HQ
Mr Christopher Smith 
020 7270 5000
foirequests@hmtreasury.gsi.gov.uk
www.gov.uk/hm-treasury
30 July 2019
Ref: R11/19
FOI2018/22341
Dear Mr Smith
Freedom of Information Act 2000 Internal Review: Disguised
Remuneration
Thank you for your email of 5 February 2019, requesting an internal review of our
response to your Freedom of Information request of 13 December 2018, our reference:
FOI2018/22341. | am sorry for the long delay in providing this review response.
We have now completed our internal review and | am writing to inform you of its
conclusions. The review was conducted by officials not involved with your original request.
Background
On 13 December 2018, you asked for the following information:
As part of the answer to Tax Avoidance: Written question - 908142, MP Mel Stride
said "An impact assessment was published when the measure was announced at
Budget 2016."
Please provide:
“1) a copy of the impact assessment that was published when the measure was
announced at Budget 2016.
2) any Treasury documents which provide more detail on that impact assessment.”
A link to the published written question is copied below:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-
statements/written-question/Commons/2018-12-11/908142/
On 14 January 2019, we provided our response. We advised you that the impact assessment
referenced in part 1 of your request was already published by HM Revenue and Customs
(HMRC) and we provided a link to it in our reply. We explained that, under section 21 of the

--- PDF page 2 ---
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the FOI Act), public authorities are not obliged to re-issue
information where it is already publicly accessible.
We also provided links to further information published by HMRC relevant to your request.
In respect of part 2 of your request, we confirmed that we held information in scope of
this part of your request, but we withheld it under section 35(1)(a) of the FOI Act. We set
out our public interest considerations for and against disclosure, concluding that the
public interest favoured withholding the information from release.
On 5 February 2019, you requested an internal review of the handling of your request. You
stated:
1 am requesting an internal review based on the Government's very clear intention that in
the instance of this particular legislation there is more transparency required around the
impact of the effects.
The second part of my question that asked you to provide "any Treasury documents which
provide more detail on that impact assessment" was withheld under the exemption
35(1)(a) under the FO! Act- formulation or development of Government policy.
The answer to part one of my question links to the impact assessment which states
“Impact on individuals, households and families - The measure is not expected to impact
on family formation, stability or breakdown."
In the response to a Freedom of Information request found at
https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/individuals_ancticpated_to_becom#incoming-
1176411 , HMRC state
"the impact assessment was across the entire UK population.", and
"The policy paper says that the measure ‘is not expected to have a material impact on
family formation, stability or breakdown’. No estimate of the number of individuals
affected by a breakdown of their family was produced. The policy paper assesses the
impact of the loan charge across the entire UK population, of which affected DR tax
avoidance scheme users make up a very small minority"
As the government has agreed, in an amendment to the Finance Bill, to review the effects
of the extension to offshore time limits in comparison with the time limits for the loan
charge there is an inherent public interest to show HM Treasury being transparent and
open to scrutiny by releasing the information the Treasury holds on this matter. This
would enable the public to determine how an impact assessment on the entire UK
population, before the aforementioned review has been completed, could accurately
measure the effect on individuals impacted by the 2019 Loan Charge.
The Review
| am satisfied that reasonable searches were carried out and that we identified documents
held by HM Treasury which met the terms of your request.
The section 35(1)(a) exemption is a class exemption, which means that it is engaged in
respect of a specific category of information. It can be used to withhold information
relating to the formulation or development of Government policy.
2

--- PDF page 3 ---
The information we hold clearly relates to the formulation of live government policy and,
as such, engages the class exemption at section 35(1)(a) of the FOI Act. As explained in our
original response letter, the purpose of section 35(1)(a) is to protect the integrity of the
policymaking process, and to prevent disclosures which would undermine this process and
result in less robust, well-considered or effective policies.
As section 35(1)(a) is a qualified exemption, we were required to consider the balance of
the public interest for and against disclosure. We set out these considerations in our
response letter. | note that, in your review request, you contended that the balance of the
public interest favours release of the information we hold.
The charge on Disguised Remuneration (DR) loans is a new charge, arising on DR loan
balances that remain outstanding on 5 April 2019. Its announcement at Budget 2016
provided scheme users with a three-year period to repay their DR loans, or to agree a
settlement with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) before the charge took effect.
We recognise that there is a clear public interest in the work of government departments
being transparent and open to scrutiny to increase diligence. However, the need to protect
a safe space for deliberation and consideration of options is key to the effective
formulation of government policy. In our view, these public interests outweigh the public
interest in disclosure.
We have noted your reference in your review request to the additional information
provided by HMRC in another FO! request regarding the impact of the loan charge
provisions. In their response to a separate request, HMRC pointed to additional published
information relating to the impact of the loan charge.
https:/Awww.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-disquised-remuneration-technical-
update/tackling-disquised-remuneration-technical-update
You also make reference to the review of time limits. The outcome of that review was
published by HM Treasury in March 2019 and can be found at the link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-time-limits-and-the-disguised-
remuneration-loan-charge
The findings of the review confirm that the government considers that the charge on DR
loans is a proportionate approach to deal with this form of calculated and persistent
avoidance.
~ 
Conclusion
In respect of the information we hold, we consider that we were entitled to refuse release
under section 35(1)(a) of the FOI Act and the public interest balance favoured withholding
the information.
Whilst | am aware you may find these conclusions disappointing, | hope that by setting
out the basis of the review, its findings and conclusions above, you will be assured that
the Treasury has, on your behalf, carried out a thorough and considered review of the
request you made and the responses that the Treasury gave under the FOI Act.

--- PDF page 4 ---
outcome of this internal review you have the right to apply
If you are not content with the
missioner can be
directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. The Com
contacted at: The Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely
CIRT
Correspondence and Information Rights Team Leader
https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-
statements/written-question/Commons/2018-12-11/908142/
4
Loan Charge FOI

Tax Avoidance:Written question - 908142

Imported text

Loan Charge FOI
