HMRC's consultation on a proposed "principles-based" approach to financial products tax avoidance has been further delayed.

The consultation was launched on 6 December 2007 (see Legal update, Consultation on principles-based approach to financial products tax avoidance). The original consultation paper set out draft legislation adopting a principles-based approach in two areas: disguised interest and sales of income streams. On 7 February 2008, HMRC published revised draft legislation relating to disguised interest (see Legal update, HMRC publishes revised draft legislation on disguised interest). However, as part of the 2008 Budget, the government announced that this legislation, originally to form part of the Finance Bill 2008, would be deferred until the Finance Bill 2009 (see Legal update, Budget 2008: Financial products avoidance: disguised interest).

On 28 April 2008, HMRC published an update on the status of the consultation, announcing that two documents would be issued in May, setting out how this consultation is to proceed (see Legal update, Financial products avoidance: status update).

However, on 2 June 2008, HMRC issued a statement that Finance Bill work had delayed the completion of these documents and that HMRC now expects to publish them in the latter half of June 2008.