Last week, HMRC published the hotly anticipated list of recognised QROPS for the first time since March, after warning earlier in the week that it would only be including Guernsey QROPS which it believed to be entirely “residents only”.
When the list was finally published on Thursday, only three of the 313 schemes previously included remained.
However, in addition to removing QROPS which had been marketed to non-residents, Guernsey Finance said HMRC has also removed others, including the Guernsey Government scheme for public employees.
Fiona Le Poidevin, deputy chief executive of Guernsey Finance said: “HMRC had given us an indication that only Guernsey pension schemes for Guernsey residents would remain on their list of QROPS published last Thursday. By implication this meant that they were going to delist Guernsey pension schemes for non-residents.
“This raised the question as to whether it was just Guernsey being targeted or whether it was going to impact other jurisdictions and in particular, those offering third-country QROPS. What we have determined from the publication of the new list is that, in broad terms, it is Guernsey which has been singled out by HMRC. However, it is difficult to work out precisely why this is the case.”
Le Poidevin added that Guernsey took “quick and decisive steps to introduce a new category of pension scheme, known as s157E” in order to comply with new regulations announced in December last year and to ensure the island’s tax treatment of pensions met the new criteria.
She continued: “Therefore, it is confusing and frustrating that HMRC has now delisted almost all Guernsey schemes while most of those from other jurisdictions remain listed as QROPS. We accept that HMRC has the right to make its own rules regarding the treatment of UK tax relieved schemes but it needs to be an open and fair process.
“However, the current actions have been introduced without warning, lack transparency and appear discriminatory. Indeed, HMRC seems to have set aside its own rules to meet an unpublished policy objective.”
