15 Sep 2013

UK govt tax adviser quits after giving avoidance tips

6:09 am on 15 September 2013

A British government tax adviser has resigned after he was recorded giving tips at a conference on how to pay less tax and "keep money out of the Chancellor's grubby mitts".

Before he joined the government as an adviser on how to clamp down on aggressive tax avoidance, David Heaton was filmed by the BBC Panorama programme telling delegates at a conference how they could exploit tax loopholes.

"Mr Heaton's statements are directly at odds with the government's approach to tackling tax avoidance," said Treasury minister David Gauke in a statement.

"Therefore, it is right that Mr Heaton resigned from his position."

Corporate tax is a hot issue in Britain since it became known that that several well-known companies did not pay corporation tax.