Confidence preserved

Proposals to allow the Inland Revenue and Customs & Excise to pass confidential information about taxpayers on to the police when they suspect illegal activity have been shelved due to the Election. The controversial plans were to have formed part of the Criminal Justice and Police Act but the Home Office said that time had proved too short to allow their passage. The measures were introduced in response to an anomaly identified in the Labour government’s Performance and Innovation Unit report “Recovering the Proceeds of Crime” last year, which noted that while drug traffickers could declare profits for tax purposes, the Revenue was unable to advise police of such gains. Since they have been given cautious support by the Conservatives, tax experts believe the measures will be reintroduced in the next parliament.