HMRC have issued the latest avoidance disclosure statistics for direct and indirect tax schemes. The number of direct tax disclosures has increased from 1,792 to 1,859 in the period October 2008 to March 2009 while the number of indirect tax disclosures increased from 877 to 881 in the same period.

The direct tax disclosures include income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, NIC and, Stamp Duty Land Tax where the subject matter of the arrangements is commercial property with a market value of at least £5 million.

A series of ‘hallmarks’ limit the need to disclose all tax efficient schemes. The intention of the hallmark system is to limit disclosure to only those schemes that are new, innovative, or of specific concern.

Full details of the statistics are available at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/avoidance/avoidance-disclosure-statistics.htm