A Scottish government proposal to introduce a general anti avoidance rule (GAAR) has gained the support of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee.
In a report released May 2, the Committee said that it “welcomes the approach to tax avoidance” taken in the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Bill, introduced December 2013.
Specifically, the Committee said it supports a broadly worded GAAR, requiring only that ‘one of the main purposes’ of an arrangement to be tax avoidance. “The Committee . . . is not of the view that a more narrowly drawn GAAR would create more certainty for taxpayers,” the report said.
The Committee rejected calls for the process to include an advisory panel, similar to the panel called for under the U.K. GAAR provisions. The Committee also recommended addition of rules that would give the new GAAR priority over other legislative measures and double tax arrangements, and said that the public should be consulted before any regulations implementing the GAAR are adopted.. Stage 1 Report on the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Bill, Press Release
