"These tough new sanctions will make would-be enablers think twice and in turn reduce the number of schemes on the market."

Accountants and advisers who enable their clients to avoid tax will face tough penalties under new government proposals announced today.

Advisers who facilitate tax avoidance could face a fine of up to 100% of the tax underpaid.

In its consultation, the government said that although tax avoiders face "significant financial costs", those who advise them face "little risk".

The move is part of the government’s clamp down on corruption following the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal, which showed HSBC was 'routinely' helping wealthy UK customers to avoid paying taxes.

The leaked documents found that almost 7,000 Britons were hiding funds in offshore Swiss bank accounts and that HSBC helped clients to conceal bank accounts from UK tax authorities and marketed schemes known to aid in tax avoidance.

In April this year, the government announced that for the first time, companies will be held criminally liable if they fail to stop their employees from facilitating tax evasion.

The Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Jane Ellison, said: “People who peddle tax avoidance schemes deny the country of vital tax revenue and this government is determined to make sure they pay.

“The vast majority of their schemes don’t work and can land their users in court facing large tax bills and other costs.

“These tough new sanctions will make would-be enablers think twice and in turn reduce the number of schemes on the market.”

However the idea has been slammed as “ill-conceived” by some in the industry including Nigel Green, CEO and founder of deVere Group, who says that while tax evasion is illegal, tax avoidance is "perfectly legal and can form a sensible part of a robust tax planning strategy".

Green added: “If politicians, the Treasury and others, are unhappy with the system as it currently stands, it is they who need to answer questions. It is they who have the power to change the country’s tax laws and regulations, and remove grey areas and unacceptable loopholes.



“Perhaps there is indeed a need to overhaul the complex system but it is not financial advisers who can do this.”