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Where Taxpayers and Advisers Meet
Editorial: When is 'Independent' not 'Independent'? When it's HMRC!
21/01/2012, by Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEP, Tax Articles - General
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Mark McLaughlin comments on HM Revenue & Customs' new Alternative Dispute Resolution Service.

HMRC launched a pilot introducing the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service earlier this month. The ADR is a new way of resolving disputes between small and medium sized enterprises and HMRC.

In the News Release announcing the ADR pilot, an HMRC spokesman outlined the perceived benefits: “ADR will help SMEs resolve disputes without having to go to a tribunal – saving them both time and money. It is a good opportunity for HMRC to work together with our customers to potentially resolve disputes much earlier than at present."

Sounds quite good, doesn't it?

But wait a moment. The News Release points out that the ADR "...uses independent HMRC facilitators to resolve disputes between HMRC and customers during a compliance check but before a decision or assessment has been made."

Hang on - how can a HMRC facilitator be 'independent' if HMRC is a party to the dispute? What 'independent' presumably means in this context is that the facilitator was not initially involved in the dispute. Not quite my idea of independent.

Taxpayers hoping for a third party mediator will be disappointed. But perhaps they should not be surprised. The existing review system is 'independent' in a similar way.

Cynics might suggest that HMRC is seeking to ensure that the odds are stacked in their favour. I couldn't possibly comment!

About The Author

Mark McLaughlin is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, a Fellow of the Association of Taxation Technicians, and a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. From January 1998 until December 2018, Mark was a consultant in his own tax practice, Mark McLaughlin Associates, which provided tax consultancy and support services to professional firms throughout the UK.

He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation’s Capital Gains Tax & Investment Income and Succession Taxes Sub-Committees.

Mark is editor and a co-author of HMRC Investigations Handbook (Bloomsbury Professional).

Mark is Chief Contributor to McLaughlin’s Tax Case Review, a monthly journal published by Tax Insider.

Mark is the Editor of the Core Tax Annuals (Bloomsbury Professional), and is a co-author of the ‘Inheritance Tax’ Annuals (Bloomsbury Professional).

Mark is Editor and a co-author of ‘Tax Planning’ (Bloomsbury Professional).

He is a co-author of ‘Ray & McLaughlin’s Practical IHT Planning’ (Bloomsbury Professional)

Mark is a Consultant Editor with Bloomsbury Professional, and co-author of ‘Incorporating and Disincorporating a Business’.

Mark has also written numerous articles for professional publications, including ‘Taxation’, ‘Tax Adviser’, ‘Tolley’s Practical Tax Newsletter’ and ‘Tax Journal’.

Mark is a Director of Tax Insider, and Editor of Tax Insider, Property Tax Insider and Business Tax Insider, which are monthly publications aimed at providing tax tips and tax saving ideas for taxpayers and professional advisers. He is also Editor of Tax Insider Professional, a monthly publication for professional practitioners.

Mark is also a tax lecturer, and has featured in online tax lectures for Tolley Seminars Online.

Mark co-founded TaxationWeb (www.taxationweb.co.uk) in 2002.

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