Employee rewards using gold bullion is not a reasonable course of action
14 August 2017
The General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) advisory panel has stated that using gold bullion is not a reasonable course of action in relation to the relevant tax provisions.
HMRC’s has previously made it clear that their firm view is that these types of tax avoidance schemes do not work.
The opinion of the GAAR advisory panel on employee rewards provided as gold bullion is:
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Entering into the tax arrangements isn’t a reasonable course of action in relation to the relevant tax provisions
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Carrying out of the tax arrangements isn’t a reasonable course of action in relation to the relevant tax provisions
You can use GAAR’s opinions together with the GAAR guidance to help you recognise abusive tax arrangements.
If you’re ever tempted to enter an avoidance scheme, remember that you can end up significantly worse off. HMRC has guidance 'Tempted by Tax Avoidance' and publications that guide taxpayers through the misleading statements promoters may make.
If the scheme looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is: being paid in gold bullion is clearly extremely unusual and should be a warning to anyone looking at this kind of scheme not to get involved.
To get out of a gold bullion tax avoidance scheme before HMRC challenges the arrangements in court, and you don’t have a contact, you should email: [email protected].