Miliband announces plans for review of HMRC immediately after election

In his speech at Welsh Labour conference today, Ed Miliband announced that there will be a full review of HMRC’s culture and practices held immediately after the election in Labour is in government. The announcement follows weeks of coverage of tax avoidance – in particular this week, following revelations about HSBC – and Miliband said there would be a “independent, root and branch review of the culture and practice of HMRC when it comes to tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance”. Speaking separately, Ed Balls said HMRC needs to do a much better job, and “be fit for purpose”.

Here’s the terms of review for the HMRC review that Labour plan to launch immediately after the election:

The Review will report to a Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer before the end of July 2015 and its coverage will include:

Practices: the formal processes for managing the investigation of tax avoidance and evasion cases, how decisions about legal action are taken, and resource prioritisation for tax compliance work.

Culture: the focus of HMRC’s leadership on tax avoidance and evasion, the relationship between HMRC and those under investigation, and the role of intermediaries.