Budget 2007: Anti-avoidance measures prove evasive. By Louise Druce

Anti-avoidance measures announced in the budget aim to raise just under £1bn but are proving increasingly obscure for most accountants.

The provisions extend the revenue’s attack on avoidance schemes and demonstrate the effectiveness of its disclosure of tax avoidance schemes’ (DOTAS) requirements, with the intent of preventing companies from buying other companies and obtaining a tax advantage through accessing the target company’s gains or losses.

They are also designed to prevent the operation of specific avoidance schemes and to extend existing anti-avoidance rules in this area.

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