Ken over at HMRC is Shite today highlights the apparent possibility of legislation which would ban anyone from giving tax advice which reduced the client’s tax bill. And the way the proposed legislation works this would mean no-one can do any tax work for anyone else.  Ken quotes the following clauses from the draft legislation:

“Tax agent
2 (1) A person is a tax agent if the person assists another person (a ‘client’) with the client’s tax affairs.
(2) A person may be a tax agent even if—
(a) the assistance is given free of charge,
(b) the assistance is given otherwise than in the course of business,
(c) the assistance is given indirectly to the client or at the request of someone other than the client, or
(d) the assistance is not given specifically to assist with the client’s tax affairs, but the person giving the assistance knows it will be used, or is likely to be used, for that purpose.
(3) Assistance with a client’s tax affairs includes assistance with any document that is likely to be relied on by HMRC to determine the client’s tax position.
(4) Assistance with a client’s tax affairs also includes—
(a) advising a client in relation to tax, and
(b) acting or purporting to act as agent on behalf of a client in relation to tax.
(5) If a client is assisted by more than one individual in a firm or business, each individual may be regarded as a separate tax agent.” 

This is craziness gone loony!  It is not just another long step towards a police state; I would put it in the very small class of things which I describe with a word I seldom use: obscene!  It would effectively mean that not only can I not discuss any financial matters with my 94 year old mother because even if all I say is “Put your money in an ISA” I am advising that she reduce her tax bill, which would now be an illegal act on my part.  Worse it means that I cannot even prepare my mother’s tax return for her even if she is unable to write or has dementia.  I’m sure that isn’t what is intended but that is certainly how I (and others; see Ken’s posting) read the words.  Now how crazy is that?!?!

WTF are they thinking?!?!?!