Finally responding to repeated communications, Labour’s leader Sir Keir Starmer has now stepped in to support victims of the loan charge. In a letter to tax barrister Keith Gordon, Starmer agrees that HMRC has urgent questions to answer about the loan charge. The letter also confirms that Sir Keir has ordered his Shadow Treasury Ministers to work with loan charge campaigners to prevent this type of controversy arising again.
The letter, seen by the Yorkshire Post states: “Many people face substantial payments for schemes they were often inadvertently forced into by employers or poorly advised by accountants. The impact in far too many cases has been extremely serious, in some cases leading to distressing financial and personal harm.
“We believe HMRC has urgent questions to answer about the handling of this issue and to ensure enforcement is fair and proportionate. That’s why we supported an amendment to last year’s Finance Bill that would have forced a review of the impact of the loan charge scheme by an independent panel within six months. Shamefully, this was voted down by the Conservatives who are still looking to avoid scrutiny of their handling of the issue.
