A new disclosure requirement has been added to the Tax Avoidance Schemes (Prescribed Descriptions of Arrangements) Regulations SI 2006 no. 1543, as amended by SI 2009 no. 2033.      Form AAG1 is required to be completed where a Disclosure of a Tax Avoidance Scheme (DOTAS) is required and this form now includes a “tick box” for Regulation 17A - Pensions. This basically means that disclosure of any schemes that seek to reduce or avoid the restriction of pension relief (i.e. via the special annual allowance) in ways which Parliament did not intend.   When looking to mitigate the special annual allowance charge, you may need to consider making a disclosure where any scheme or arrangement has been used in order to obtain a tax advantage and advice should be sought on this possibility as part of your overall tax planning strategy.

Posted on 18 Nov 2009