Introduction Background
46.This section was announced at Budget 2012 following the publication, in November 2011, of a report by an independent study group led by Graham Aaronson QC. The Government accepted the group’s recommendations that a general anti-abuse rule (GAAR) targeted at artificial and abusive tax avoidance schemes would be the right approach for the UK.
47.A consultation document on the GAAR, which included draft legislation, was published on 12 June 2012. The consultation ran until 14 September 2012. A number of changes were made to the original draft of the legislation in order to reflect comments received during the consultation process. A response document was published on 11 December 2012 to summarise the responses to the consultation, note the various amendments to the draft legislation and explain why these changes (and not others) were made. Revised draft legislation and draft guidance were published for technical consultation on 11 December 2012.