Fraud: Victim Support Schemes
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of legislative changes to require HMRC to prioritise investigations of (a) promoters and (b) perpetrators of fraudulent schemes over investigations of (i) professional footballers, (ii) loan charge victims and (c) other individuals misled into such schemes.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson
HMRC already takes action against those behind tax avoidance schemes by using a variety of legislation and tools to challenge promoters and others in the tax avoidance supply chain.
HMRC also regularly publishes information on tax avoidance schemes, those who promote them and others connected to avoidance schemes, to help customers identify, avoid, and exit them. As of 4 September 2025, HMRC has published details of more than 170 tax avoidance schemes and named more than 170 promoters on GOV.UK
The Government is determined to do more to close in on promoters of marketed tax avoidance and recently consulted on a package of measures to strengthen existing powers. This includes proposals to:
- expand the scope of the Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes (DOTAS) regime;
- introduce a Universal Stop Notice and Promoter Action Notice; introduce stronger information powers so HMRC can effectively tackle those who own and control promoter organisations; and
- tackle the small number of legal professionals designing or contributing to the promotion of avoidance schemes.
Where individuals owe tax, HMRC seeks to take a supportive and proportionate approach to recovering the amount due, including providing extra support for individuals who need it and offering ‘Time to Pay’ instalment arrangements where appropriate.
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