Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has scrapped tax advice offering in the UK and Channel Islands to simplify operations.
A spokesperson from the Canadian lender said that these services are not the strength of major banks.
“As the wealth management landscape evolves, we are responding by reducing complexity in our business,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson added that the bank will now refer tax advice service to third party specialist tax advisers.
The recent move by RBC comes shortly after a consultation by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in August 2016 to clamp down on tax avoidance enablers. Under proposals by HMRC, those found to facilitate tax avoidance arrangements could have to pay a fine of up to 100% of the tax evaded.
The bank has however, dismissed the notion that the decision taken by RBC is associated with the recent HMRC consultation.
