RSM Tenon, the UK-based accountancy and advisory firm, will scrap its specialist tax service as a response to the government’s ambition to introduce a general anti-avoidance rule.

The UK finance minister, George Osborne, revealed that the government is looking to introduce a GAAR when he delivered the country’s budget in March. The rule is intended to stamp out aggressive tax planning and avoidance.

“The direction of travel for anti-avoidance tax legislation is clearly set," chief executive Chris Merry told this publication. "Now is therefore a good time [to exit], even though the law will not come until next year, as the risk to these products has clearly increased."

“Whilst this will have limited impact on revenues in this financial year (as these had substantially been earned prior to the budget statement), we will not earn revenues in this service line going forward,” the RSM Tenon said in an announcement to the London Stock Exchange.

The specialist tax segment represented about 5 per cent of the company's revenues in the second half of 2011.

In March, the firm reported a loss of £70 million ($111 million) in the six months to 31 December and confirmed that it will be forced to make a 10 per cent staff cut. The firm now said that its programme to achieve annual employment cost savings of about £14 million is well under way and that three-quarters of the targeted savings have already been secured. The programme is expected to be completed next month.

At the end of April, RSM Tenon's chairman, Adrian Martin, said that he will step down from the board as soon as a suitable successor has been found.