Why Sir Keir Starmer should order new review of loan charge if he wins election: Greg Wright

With Labour’s lead over the Tories stretching to 25 points in at least one opinion poll, thoughts are inevitably turning to what a Keir Starmer administration might look like.
By Greg Wright
Published 12th Jul 2023, 07:39 BST
Updated 12th Jul 2023, 08:00 BST

Although some pundits believe Labour is already in an almost impregnable position, Mr Starmer cannot rely on Government misjudgements to hand him victory at the next election. The Labour front bench must spell out a bold vision for how they would do things differently.

One way in which Mr Starmer can differentiate himself from Mr Sunak’s Government is over the issue of taxpayer fairness. The tireless work of the the Loan Charge & Taxpayer Fairness All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) has exposed the full horror of the loan charge scandal, which has been linked with a number of suicides.

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Over the past four years, I’ve lost count of the number of honest, hard-working people whose lives have been thrown into chaos due to the loan charge, which has left them with life-changing and unexpected tax bills. Evidence collected by MPs concluded that, in the vast majority of cases, these people were not trying to avoid their responsibilities as taxpayers. Far from it. They had simply trusted their professional advisers.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in Call Keir, his regular phone-in on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast show, at the Global Studios, London, where he takes calls from LBC listeners across the UK. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in Call Keir, his regular phone-in on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast show, at the Global Studios, London, where he takes calls from LBC listeners across the UK. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in Call Keir, his regular phone-in on LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast show, at the Global Studios, London, where he takes calls from LBC listeners across the UK. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

This crisis provides Mr Starmer with an opportunity to display truly enlightened leadership while attracting potentially tens of thousands of new supporters. Labour should commit to implementing a review into the loan charge scandal if it wins the next election. In May, Labour’s Shadow Financial Secretary James Murray slammed the “well-documented distress and harm” linked to the loan charge in the House of Commons. Labour should seize the initiative by listening to the victims of the this scandal and demanding tougher action against the promoters behind these schemes. Labour should also engage with professionals who are seeking a “fair resolution” to this tragic saga.

The Government has stressed that “significant changes” were made to the loan charge following Lord Morse's review in 2019 which reduced its impact. Taxpayers are supported by HMRC’s trained advisers who, where appropriate, also encourage them to contact organisations such as Samaritans or Mind for specialised help, according to the Government. More than 20,000 customers have settled their use of “disguised remuneration schemes”, which has secured more than £3bn for public services.

The evidence of distress linked to the loan charge, however, continues to mount. A nurse, who said he is facing a bill for a bill for £49,000 linked to the loan charge, told me: “I’m expected to go to work and ‘save lives ‘ with this hanging over me everyday.”

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He added: “This is destroying my life. I can’t plan a future and I’m close to my mental health being at its lowest.” The man said he was advised by his nursing agency to use the “best employment services” from one of their recommended umbrella companies. He added: “I was also advised that everything was correct and I was paying them a fee to correctly sort my tax affairs.”

Mr Starmer can show he is his own man by committing Labour to a root and branch review of the loan charge if he gains the keys to Number 10.

Greg Wright is the deputy business editor of The Yorkshire Post

Related topics:Keir StarmerGovernmentHMRC