> It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing. > Not quite >

> It is illegal not to tell the tax man anything you do not want him to know, but legal not to tell him information you do not mind him knowing. > Not quite > This appears to be a simplification of the Tax Avoidance Schemes Regulations 2006. This requires the disclosure of arrangements securing a tax advantage where those benefiting wish to keep it confidential in order to facilitate repeated benefits: the desire for confidentiality is regarded as a hallmark of an unacceptable tax arrangement. IANAL, but this seems to be bordering on "If you think it's illegal, it is! If you think it's not illegal, it isn't!" Apparently the tax code is now so difficult that we can no longer decide what is and isn't legal, and have to resort to deciding based on whether the defendant thinks it is. I'm all for tougher laws on tax avoidance, but I don't think "Look! He tried to hide it! He must be guilty of something!" is a valid argument.