The HMRC have been accused of pursuing individuals involved in loan schemes prior to 2010 through controversial tactics, reports Sky News. The publication said HMRC has been using an ‘s684 notice’. This effectively gives HMRC the discretion to transfer a tax burden from an employer to an employee for the tax years excluded from the Loan Charge. In 2020, the UK government made changes to the controversial disguised remuneration Loan Charge and made changes that meant the charge would apply to loans taken out on or after 9 December 2010, rather than from 1990. The changes followed an independent review, led by Sir Amyas Morse.

It is not clear how many individuals have been sent the notices. The government previously estimated that 11,000 people would be removed from the Loan Charge by introducing the 2010 cut off. The Loan Charge adds together all outstanding loans and taxes them in a single year, often at the 45% rate and the notices mean HMRC can use its own discretion to turn off an employer's PAYE obligations and seek the income tax that would have been due that year from the employee instead.

A spokesperson for HMRC said the Morse Review "recommend we use our normal powers to investigate and settle cases taken out of the Loan Charge". They said they had been issuing the notices since May 2022, having won a case at the Court of Appeal over their use in relation to loan schemes, "so it's not a sudden change". However, campaigners disputed the use of the notices as "normal" and said it is another example of HMRC "abusing its power" to go after individuals rather than the companies that ran and promoted the loan schemes.