Barclays, HSBC, NatWest Targeted in $745 Million Tax Crackdown

Barclays Plc, HSBC Plc, and NatWest Plc are facing potential U.K. tax liabilities of 586 million pounds ($745 million) as the result of a widening crackdown on a pervasive, and long-tolerated, structure used to minimize payments of value-added tax on internal transactions.

The three banks could be just the start. More financial services firms could be caught in similar tax disputes with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Custom, tax advisers say. The three banks are all appealing their tax bill, with HSBC leading the charge.

The government is using an obscure power known as “protection of ...