HSBC is among the companies that have cashed in on the promotion of tax avoidance schemes. The bank received an “introductory fee” of £438,469 for promoting a film investment to a single wealthy client in 2007 Anthony Devlin/Press AssociationHundreds of British banks, accountancy firms and lawyers have earned millions of pounds promoting tax avoidance schemes even when these later fail in court. While clients are pursued for back taxes if a scheme is ruled ineffective, the firms that devise, finance and promote such arrangements are invariably allowed to retain their fees. The promise of high fees for little risk has attracted a host of tax “enablers” including big four accountants and major banks. HSBC’s London office received £10 million in fees in the mid 2000s after devising two tax schemes called Eclipse and Zeus.

Source: The Times August 16, 2016 23:37 UTC