I'm never sure where the line is drawn between acceptable tax avoidance and unacceptable tax avoidance.
What about:
- paying a decorator/windowcleaner/gardener in cash
- taxpayer putting savings in the name of non-tax paying spouse
- using a salary sacrifice scheme to avoid NI,
-taking up to 25% of your pension as a tax free lump sum
- applying (as the Milibands did) a retrospective deed of variation to a deceased parent's will to save a wad of inheritance tax
http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property-news/news/mint-it-milibands
-tax havens used by Labour and Tory donors
- HMRC using tax efficient methods
- companies like Amazon and Starbucks setting up head office off shore
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/Politics/article1519471.ece
I agree that Labour could be opening a can of worms as many of these things happened on their watch. I also think it's a really difficult issue to tackle and tax advisers/lawyers will always be one step ahead of government/HMRC