The Ray McCann review of the loan charge settlement terms — and the government's response to it — will be published by Autumn Budget 2025.
Dan Tomlinson, a Treasury minister, told the House of Commons yesterday that the government would "respond" to the McCann review "by" Nov 26th.
At the time of writing, the McCann review isn't publicly available.
Therefore, the inference from Tomlinson's announcement is that HMT has already received it and will disclose it, with its reply, before or with the budget.
Publication of govt. response to McCann loan charge review as expected
Tomlinson shared the timing of HM Treasury's incoming reply to the review in answer to a question from Lib Dem MP Zoe Franklin.
Labour saying it will reply to recommendations about an HMRC policy linked to 10 taxpayer deaths at or before a budget, is receiving a mixed response.
Graham Webber, of tax dispute firm WTT Group, says a Nov 26th reply to loan charge reviewer Mr McCann is "pretty much in line" with what he expected.
A budget in November grants HMT time to consider McCann's findings
"McCann reported his findings to the government in May-June, a few weeks later than scheduled," began Mr Webber, aware that HMT initially expected the review to conclude by "summer 2025."
"It was always the case that the government would need to consider…[McCann's] report in detail before any formal response was made.
"If this year's budget had been in October, the time available for consideration would have been limited. A budget in November grants the time required."
Loan Charge APPG's very helpful discussions with Ray McCann
WTT's co-founder, Mr Webber also told ContractorUK: "Most of the professional advisers in this space were looking to the November budget for a response."
The Loan Charge and Taxpayer Fairness APPG met with Mr Mcann after his review opened, and had a "very helpful" session with the former HMRC assistant director.
But the APPG's co-chair, Tory MP Greg Smith, outlined last night that HMT lumping in McCann's review and its reply to it with a fiscal event is wrong.
Treating McCann loan charge review response as a budget announcement
"It's completely inappropriate that the government is treating the McCann review response as a budget announcement," Mr Smith told ContractorUK.
"This is yet more evidence that it isn't a review of the loan charge at all, but a tick-box exercise of tinkering with settlements."
A DUP MP warned in September that setting out new steps for loan charge contractors at a chancellor's statement would, wrongly, render it a "fiscal decision."
Fiscal decision
"It is wholly inappropriate that this is being regarded by…the government as being linked to the budget and therefore a fiscal decision," Sammy Wilson MP wrote in a letter to Treasury minister James Murray MP.
"The loan charge, as you have acknowledged yourself, is a deeply controversial policy that has spectacularly failed to deliver its stated objectives, as well as causing untold misery, mental and family breakdown, and tragically leading to the suicides of ten people and the attempted suicide of [13] others.
Not a genuine loan charge review
In his letter to the then exchequer secretary to the Treasury, Mr Wilson continued:
"To instead treat this as a fiscal decision, based on how much the Treasury might be prepared to allocate to resolving this issue (but without actually reviewing the legislation or the whole history of the loan charge scandal) shows that this is not a genuine loan charge review at all, but an exercise in tweaking settlements of those already unfairly deemed to have deliberately avoided tax, on the basis of taking professional advice (and in some cases being pressurised or even forced into working in this way)."
In July, an Early Day Motion (EDM) recorded concern "HMRC did a deal with large companies over similar schemes for just 15%...which means they received an 85% discount."
HMRC has treated loan charge contractors uniquely harshly
Entitled "Loan Charge and settlement terms offered to large companies and individuals," the EDM has secured the signatures of 85 MPs.
The EDM adds that Mr McCann (identified by the MPs as speaking of the deal to Lord Amyas Morse) said HMRC has "refused" to offer discounts to contractors.
McCann is also said by the EDM to have asserted that HMRC has treated loan charge contractors "uniquely harshly."
Discrimination against contractors
In his letter, the DUP's Sammy Wilson made the same point to the Treasury's Mr Murray, who is now chief secretary to the Treasury (Dan Tomlinson replaced him as exchequer secretary on Sep 1st).
"McCann is clear that contractors have been treated uniquely harshly, compared to other groups," Mr Wilson said in his letter.
"This discrimination is something that must be both properly revealed and explained."
McCann must reject any attempt to water down his recommendations
Steve Packham, a spokesperson for the Loan Charge Action Group (LCAG), says he wrote to Mr McCann, a former CIOT president, on October 17th 2025 to ask him to stand up for contractors.
Last night, LCAG's Mr Packham said in a statement to ContractorUK:
"We have made a plea to Ray McCann on behalf of people caught up in the loan charge nightmare, urging him to have the courage to reject any attempts by the government to water down his recommendations.
"As well as the severe restrictions imposed on him, it is clear that there are private discussions about McCann's original recommendations with the possibility that the minister may seek to change them, before publication.
"It seems clear that this partial and restricted review cannot and will not resolve the loan charge scandal, so we would hope that Ray McCann would want to admit that, rather than putting his name to something he knows will neither resolve cases nor the wider injustice."
A full and proper inquiry into the whole loan charge is needed
The Conservatives' Greg Smith says even once the government's response to the McCann loan charge review is published, the push to achieve a resolution for loan charge contractors will be far from over.
The Tory MP for Mid Buckinghamshire told ContractorUK: "There needs to be a full and proper inquiry into the whole loan charge…that looks at the role of all parties involved in the mis-selling of schemes and the conduct and failures of HMRC.
"Whatever changes are made to settlements as a result of the McCann review, the wider issues need investigating as well as the wholesale failure of the loan charge as a policy and HMRC's approach in targeting victims of mis-selling, while ignoring the perpetrators of it."
