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The 2019 Loan Charge - Widespread use of loan schemes and impact on NHS workers
Source: WhatDoTheyKnow
Authority: HM Revenue and Customs
Status: The request was
partially successful
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Imported path: /opt/loancharge/imports/wdtk/requests/the_2019_loan_charge_widespread
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SOURCE: WhatDoTheyKnow
SOURCE_URL: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_2019_loan_charge_widespread
TITLE: The 2019 Loan Charge - Widespread use of loan schemes and impact on NHS workers
AUTHORITY: HM Revenue and Customs
AUTHORITY_URL: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/body/hmrc
STATUS: The request was
partially successful
.
REQUEST_SLUG: the_2019_loan_charge_widespread
CAPTURED_AT: 2026-05-19T07:15:01+00:00
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ATTACHMENTS:
- FOI2018_01219_MKSZ_Consulting.pdf | https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_2019_loan_charge_widespread/response/1186388/attach/2/FOI2018%2001219%20MKSZ%20Consulting.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 | application/pdf | 177416 bytes
- [not downloaded] | https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/the_2019_loan_charge_widespread/response/1186388/attach/html/2/FOI2018%2001219%20MKSZ%20Consulting.pdf.html | | 0 bytes
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MESSAGE 1 [outgoing]
HEADER: MKSZ Consulting
12 June 2018
Delivered
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Dear HM Revenue and Customs,
Are HMRC and Ministers aware that there is widespread use of schemes by healthcare workers and the NHS and that nurses and other frontline NHS staff will be bankrupted by this charge?
If so, what is the expected impact on the NHS?
How is this exacerbated with immigration caps?
How will HMRC counteract this negative impact on both, the NHS and individual healthcare professionals?
Yours faithfully,
MKSZ Consulting
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MESSAGE 2 [incoming]
HEADER: foi.team@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk on behalf of FOI Central Team,
HM Revenue and Customs
13 June 2018
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our ref: FOI2018/01219
Dear Sir/Madam,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 Acknowledgement
Thank you for your communication of 12th June which has been passed to
HMRC's Freedom of Information Team.
We have allocated the above reference which you should quote if you need
to contact us.
The Team will arrange for a reply to be sent to you which will either
comply with HMRC's obligations under Freedom of Information Act or, if we
think it's an enquiry that we don't need to address under the terms of the
Act, let you know why. If it is the latter we will, if possible, pass it
on to a more appropriate part of the Department for answer.
Yours faithfully
HMRC Freedom of Information Act Team
================================================================================
MESSAGE 3 [incoming]
HEADER: foi.team@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk on behalf of FOI Central Team,
HM Revenue and Customs
10 July 2018
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1 Attachment
FOI2018 01219 MKSZ Consulting.pdf
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Dear ,
I am writing in response to your request for information, received 12th
June.
Yours sincerely,
HMRC Freedom of Information Team
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ATTACHMENT TEXT EXTRACTION / OCR
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ATTACHMENT: FOI2018_01219_MKSZ_Consulting.pdf
TEXT_FILE: FOI2018_01219_MKSZ_Consulting.pdf.txt
METHOD: pdf_native
OCR_USED: False
PAGES: 3
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--- PDF page 1 ---
Information is available in large print, audio and Braille formats.
Text Relay service prefix number – 18001
Individuals Policy Directorate
Freedom of Information Team
S1715
6 Floor
Central Mail Unit
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE98 1ZZ
MKSZ Consulting
By email:
request-490919-edbc6183@whatdotheyknow.com
Email
foi.request@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk
Web
www.gov.uk
Date: 10 July 2018
Our ref:
FOI2018/01219
Dear Sir/Madam,
Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA)
Thank you for your requests, which were received on 12 June, for the following information:
“How many individuals have been formally notified of this change in the law - considering
this new legislation applying 20 yrs retroactively will affect many thousands lives?
“Are HMRC and Ministers aware that there is widespread use of schemes by healthcare
workers and the NHS and that nurses and other frontline NHS staff will be bankrupted by
this charge?
If so, what is the expected impact on the NHS?
How is this exacerbated with immigration caps?
How will HMRC counteract this negative impact on both, the NHS and individual healthcare
professionals?
“Has there been an impact assessment carried out to determine the scope and scale of UK
wide industry sectors affected by the 2019 Loan Charge and what impact this will have on
the economy as a whole? If not, why not?
If so, please provide details of the outcome of the impact assessment.
“How many individuals are subject to the loan charge and how is this broken down by
industry sector (i.e. IT consultants, NHS workers, oil + gas contractors, supply teachers
etc)?
“Please explain the view of Rt Mel Stride why the 2019 Loan Charge is considered by
HMRC to be “new legislation” that applies retroactively?
“How can an individual owe tax on a year that is closed and protected from adjustment by
law?
“Can HMRC and Ministers comment on ICAEW's statement that the loan charge
"...contravenes generally accepted notions of fairness, breaks the constitutional convention
against retrospective legislation and imposes tax charges in cases where taxpayers already
had legal certainty that no tax was due”?
“Of those individual freelancers affected by the loan charge, for how many are HMRC
pursuing the employer?
--- PDF page 2 ---
2
“Of those impacted by the 2019 Loan Charge, how many have been identified as
'vulnerable', or reported as having mental health/distress problems?
“Of those individuals impacted by the 2019 Loan Charge, how many have self-assessment
or tax returns which (according to HMRC rules) are out of time for enquiry?”
Under section 12(4) of the FOIA, with reference to regulation 5 of the Freedom of
Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004, when
estimating the cost of complying, HMRC may aggregate two or more requests made by the
same person, when the same or similar information is requested and where those requests
are received within a period of sixty consecutive days (see the links below).
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/12
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/3244/regulation/5/made
I am therefore aggregating your requests and this response covers them all. I can confirm
HMRC holds some information that falls within the scope of your requests. However, we
estimate that it would exceed the FOIA cost limit to deal with them. The cost limit, which is
specified in regulations, equates to one person spending 3½ working days locating and
extracting all of the information within scope of the request.
Normally, HMRC would explore with you how you might be able to narrow or refine your
request so that it did not exceed the FOIA cost limit. However, in this case, I cannot see any
scope for doing this.
HMRC published detailed settlement terms on 7 November 2017 as part of a campaign to
encourage taxpayers to come forward and settle their tax affairs ahead of the loan charge
introduction. We notified these taxpayers through letters, emails, phone calls, and in
webinars. To provide a figure for the total number of individuals formally notified would mean
searching manual and electronic records across a number of HMRC systems. We would
have to review each record to identify the method of notification and the date that action took
place.
I have established that the time necessary to complete this task would exceed the cost limit
by some way. Consequently, under section 12(1) of the FOIA, HMRC is not obliged to
comply with your request and we will not be processing it further.
Although I am unable to answer your FOIA request, I can provide some information outside
of the Act on a discretionary basis.
Outside of the FOIA
The ‘Disguised remuneration: further update’ tax information and impact note (TIIN), which
outlines HMRC’s expected impact of the charge on disguised remuneration (DR) loans, can
be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-further-
update/disguised-remuneration-further-update
Pay As You Earn (PAYE) liabilities fall on the employer in the first instance. The charge on
DR loans will not change this principle and HMRC will pursue employers who have used DR
schemes for the tax that is due. HMRC will only go to the employee to settle their income tax
liability in cases where it cannot reasonably be collected from the employer, for example
where the employer is no longer in existence. More information is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-transfer-of-liability-
technical-note/tackling-disguised-remuneration#transfer-of-liability
If you are not satisfied with this reply you may request a review within two months by
emailing foi.review@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk, or by writing to the address at the top right-hand side
of this letter.
If you are not content with the outcome of an internal review, you can complain to the
Information Commissioner’s Office. The following link explains how to do this:
https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
--- PDF page 3 ---
3
Yours faithfully,
Individuals Policy Directorate