U.K. Probes 12,000 Trusts, Ahead Of New Tax Rules Being Enforced

The U.K. tax office has launched 12,000 investigations into employee benefits trusts over the past five years.

A further 2,420 probes began in the financial year ended March 31, 2018, according to data from a freedom of information request filed by law firm Pinsent Masons.

• Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) are arrangements that companies use to reduce their tax liability for employer’s national insurance contributions, a tax used to pay for welfare. The trusts are also used to reduce income tax bills for their employees.
• These taxes are avoided by employees agreeing to have their earnings paid into an overseas ...