Lib Dems: Govt must not shirk responsibility over loan charge

Liberal Democrat MP Ed Davey has criticised the implementation of the the Loan Charge which is coming into force today. He has been the leading figure in the cross-party campaign against its introduction.

Commenting on its introduction, Ed Davey said:

My campaign to stop the abuse of power by the Treasury in how it has introduced the Loan Charge has now won huge cross-party support.

The Chancellor must listen to Parliament: by applying the Loan Charge to past tax years, the Conservative Government has broken long-standing tax principles and in so doing is pushing thousands into bankruptcy and depression. We have even seen cases of suicide.

HMRC has repeatedly failed to tackle the growth in these loan schemes. It now wants to make thousands of innocent contractors pay for its mistakes, whilst allowing the umbrella companies who developed and marketed the schemes in the first place to get away scot-free.

If anyone has behaved evasively, it is this Government. They have refused to engage seriously with our investigations into the Loan Charge. But the time for excuses is over. The introduction of the Loan Charge must be delayed immediately, so that an independent legal review can determine whether it is fit for purpose.