Tax-dodgers will be given an easy ride by their Tory chums in new rules meant to clamp down on abuse, the TUC warned yesterday.

The government's General Anti-Abuse Rule (GAAR) is so poorly designed that it will allow 99 per cent of tax avoidance to continue.

According to Treasury estimates, the rule will raise £40-£60 million a year - just 0.2 per cent of the estimated £25 billion lost to tax cheats every year.