The Northern Ireland Tax Committee of Chartered Accountants Ireland will be responding to this consultation, focusing on the safeguards and key issues arising from making such a power available to HMRC.

The consultation provides further details of the measure, in addition to outlining how it will work in practice. Broadly, debts will only be suitable for DRD where there is a tax or tax credit debt of £1,000 or more due to HMRC. Views are sought on how best to implement the policy, including how to establish balanced and fair safeguards to avoid debtors suffering undue hardship. The Northern Ireland Tax Committee's response to this consultation will be published in full in next month's edition of tax.point.