Graham Aaronson QC, a barrister who practises in commercial taxation, said that while most companies have distanced themselves from tax avoidance after acknowledging that they had a responsibility to the Treasury, he believed there were still ‘many schemes out there’ to help individuals dodge their tax responsibilities.

The Times reported today:

‘When Mr Aaronson was told of K2, the tax avoidance scheme used by Jimmy Carr which allows members to reduce their income tax bill to about 1% by channelling their salaries through Jersey, it made his “blood boil”.

He added: “People ask me how much tax I pay. At the moment it’s 50%. I feel absolutely furious when people tell me that they pay 3% because of some artificial scheme. That’s exactly why we need the GAAR.”’