3 July 2018

Peter Aldous raises his concerns that the retrospective nature of the 2019 loan charge could bankrupt thousands of people and calls on the Government to review legislation so that the loan charge will only apply to loans made after the Finance Act 2017 was passed.

To follow on from the question asked by the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Stephen Lloyd), the retrospective nature of the 2019 loan charge could bankrupt thousands of people. Will the Government revise legislation to ensure that that does not happen, with the loan charge only applying to disguised remuneration loans made after the passing of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2017?

This is not retrospective legislation. The activities and arrangements entered into by those who are in scope of this measure were not legal when they were entered into, even though they may have been entered into in the past. The loan charge is there not to apply penalties for that behaviour, but to ensure that those individuals pay the right amount of tax.

Hansard