1. General news
1.1. NAO report regarding large tax disputes
The National Audit Office has concluded, on the basis of an
examination by former High Court tax judge Sir Andrew Park, that
five large tax settlements were reasonable and the overall outcome
for the Exchequer was good. However, it expressed concerns about
the processes by which the settlements were reached and over poor
internal communication of the reasons for settlement.
The NAO's review of the settlements followed serious concern
by the Public Accounts Committee about how HMRC had handled them or
overlooked governance arrangements. The NAO also examined the basis
of concerns expressed by whistleblowers.
According to NAO's report, all five settlements were
reasonable under the circumstances and at least one may have been
better than reasonable. The report says that these large
settlements are complex and there was no clear answer to what
represented the 'right' tax liability. In each case,
