From 1 March 2017, members of seven professional tax and accounting bodies will be prevented from promoting or creating tax avoidance schemes under a new code of Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation.

• The professional bodies have been challenged by government to take a greater lead and responsibility:
  • To set and enforce clear professional standards around facilitation and promotion of avoidance.
  • To protect the reputation of the tax and accountancy profession.
  • To act for the greater public good.
• In response, the AAT, ACCA, ATT, CIOT, ICAEW, ICAS and STEP have jointly established new ethical guidelines and code of conduct restricting what their members can do.
• The new Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation (PCRT) covers any structure or arrangement that is artificial, contrived, or seeks to exploit loopholes in tax law.
• The new PCRT will apply from 1 March 2017.

The guidelines are endorsed by HMRC.

External links to PCRT versions:

Current Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation

Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation effective from 1 March 2017

Links to our guides

Penalties for accountants and advisers

Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes (POTAS)

Penalties: Enablers of Tax Avoidance

 

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