Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

17. In the response to Tax Avoidance:Written question - 152724 found at https://www.parliament.uk/business/publi... , The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mel Stride, said "...these schemes never worked and the amounts paid were always taxable under the law at the time."

Please provide any documents which detail why HMRC did not tax the payments under the the law at the time the payments were made.

Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and Customs's handling of my FOI request 'Law applying to tax on loan payments'.

I am simply asking for any document that justifies the statement made by Mel Stride "...these schemes never worked and the amounts paid were always taxable under the law at the time."
If this is indeed true, then surely there is a document that justifies your claims that "HMRC has undertaken extensive compliance activity against DR schemes and scheme users since they were first used on the basis that income tax and National Insurance contributions were always due." and therefore the Loan Charge would be unnecessary as tax would have been collectable under the laws available to HMRC at the time. I reiterate my original question, Please provide any documents (even 1 will do, with the date it was created) which detail why HMRC did not tax the payments under the law at the time the payments were made.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan

Dear [email address] on behalf of FOI Team,

Please withdraw this internal request

Yours sincerely,

Colin McGowan

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and Customs's handling of my FOI request 'Law applying to tax on loan payments'.

I would like an internal review of this request as you claim you do not hold the information because of "extensive compliance activity". This is not a valid reason for not answering the question

Your answer was:

"Following a review of our records, I have established that HMRC does not hold the information you requested. This is because HMRC has undertaken extensive compliance activity against DR schemes and scheme users since they were first used on the basis that income tax and National Insurance contributions were always due. This activity has included opening thousands of enquiries into scheme users, successful litigation, introducing targeted anti-avoidance legislation in 2011, and agreeing settlements."

You answer claims "extensive compliance activity" occured on the basis that income tax and NICs were always due. Many individual cases were not taxed at the time which suggests either HMRC compliance activity failed or the payments were not, in fact, always taxable under the law at the time the payments were made.

(1) Please explain why HMRC did not tax the payments at the time if "extensive compliance activity" was undertaken.

Opening thousands of enquiries does not prove that payments were taxable at the time if HMRC did not issue closure notices for the enquiries. The fact many enquiries are still open after 10-15 years could suggest the payments were not taxable at the time they were made.

(2) Please explain why HMRC did not issue closure notices for the thousands of enquiries if they were for payments that were always taxable under the law at the time (particularly when the answer also refers to successful litigation).

That targeted anti-avoidance legislation was required in 2011 could also suggest that payments before that 2011 legislation was enacted were not always taxable at the time the payments were made.

(3) Why did HMRC not tax all pre-2011 payments at the time?

(4) Why was this legislation required if payments were always taxable at the time the payments were made? (I note the 2011 legislation was not retrospective/retroactive and parts came info effect from December 2010)

Your answer also refers to successful litigation. If it was the case that this litigation meant payments were always taxable at the time they were made then HMRC have a host of powers (including follower notices) which have not been used for many individuals.

(5) Please explain why HMRC refers to successful litigation yet for many cases have still failed to tax the payments under the law at the time the payments were made.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and Customs's handling of my FOI request 'Law applying to tax on loan payments'.

I have submitted this for internal review and have heard nothing. Please respond with either your conclusions, report or justification for delay.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

This is now saying it is long overdue. And I agree it is. I have been patient but answers to these questions should not be difficult for your organisation.

This is supposed to be in internal review, please let me know when I can expect a proper response.

Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of HM Revenue and Customs's handling of my FOI request 'Law applying to tax on loan payments'.

Nothing is moving on this at all. By law you have to have responded. You are now in breach of that law. Share what you know. You are under a legal duty to disclose this information that should be easily to hand given how much effort you are expending on this activity.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/l...

Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan

Dear HM Revenue and Customs,

How long are you going to let this sit here? I will remind you of the Civil Service Code which you appear to be holding in contempt.

‘integrity’ is putting the obligations of public service above your own personal interests
‘honesty’ is being truthful and open
‘objectivity’ is basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence
‘impartiality’ is acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions

You are arguably failing on all of them but in particularly on 'integrity'. I am putting it to you that this request is not being processed because the truth is inconvenient to you. That truth may well be that the information you have been putting out is based on no legal foundation, actions or research whatsoever.

The longer this is here with no action, the more apparent that becomes.
Yours faithfully,

Colin McGowan