Information released under the Freedom of Information Act - Disguised Remuneration loan charge awareness letters
Published 7 February 2019
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disguised-remuneration-loan-charge-awareness-letters/information-released-under-the-freedom-of-information-act-disguised-remuneration-loan-charge-awareness-letters
1. Background
Since November 2017, HM Revenue and Customs has been writing directly to individuals and employers who may be impacted by the Disguised Remuneration (DR) loan charge. HMRC has written directly to over 40,000 users, identified through its compliance work, IT records and tax return data.
2. Information released
In response to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act HMRC has published a geographical breakdown for awareness letters sent.
| Country | Number of letters |
|---|---|
| England | 33,320 |
| Wales | 1,030 |
| Scotland | 2,560 |
| Northern Ireland | 570 |
| Outside of UK | 1,720 |
A further breakdown of recipients by UK parliamentary constituency and by country outside of the UK is also available on GOV.UK.
Location details provided are based on the individual’s correspondence address held by HMRC. Where the number of letters is equal to or less than 5, the information has been withheld by HMRC under the exemption at Section 44(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which applies when the information is prohibited from disclosure under any enactment.
In this instance, the relevant enactment is section 23(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).
The effect of section 23 is to prohibit HMRC from disclosing information held in connection with its functions which would specify the identity of a person or enable the identity of person to be deduced.
3. Further Information
In addition to awareness letters, HMRC is actively encouraging disguised remuneration scheme users to come forward and settle through its regular contact with customers and has raised additional awareness through its series of Spotlight publications, tweets and webinars.
In July 2018, an HMRC issue briefing on disguised remuneration charge on loans was published on GOV.UK This provides additional information about the loan charge, links to the settlement terms and relevant Spotlights along with helpful information for those who may have difficulty paying what they owe.
Requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act can be emailed to HMRC.