Three separate tax avoidance cases have been recently won by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) at the Upper Tribunal, with tax of more than £260m being secured by the organisation.
The cases were originally heard at the First-Tier Tribunal, which found in HMRC’s favour. The appellants had taken part in a scheme promoted by NT Advisors, and this is the ninth win for HMRC against the scheme promoters.
By combining the rules for Capital Gains Tax and employment income for share options, the scheme created artificial losses. The appeal was dismissed by the Upper Tribunal, without HMRC having to produce substantive arguments. The Upper Tribunal will produce the written reasons for dismissal of the appeal, which will be produced following the hearing. The scheme had 420 other users and the outcome of these cases will probably be applied to these.
Two other cases were also dismissed by the Upper Tribunal, which featured similar schemes used to avoid payment of tax. These were created a few years ago by banks and were designed to provide a higher return on cash deposits than by placing cash in a regular deposit account. As the schemes were of a similar nature, the Upper Tribunal heard both together. David Gauke, the financial secretary to the Treasury, said:
“These latest cases show that HMRC will effectively tackle those who try to get around their legal responsibilities. Users of avoidance schemes should think twice before trying to abuse tax reliefs to avoid paying their fair share of tax.”
He added that the majority of people pay the correct amount of tax which they owe.
Appealing a decision to the Upper Tribunal
If you are dissatisfied with a decision made by the First-Tier Tribunal, you can apply for permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
If permission is granted, you will be notified in writing by the First-Tier Tribunal. You can also apply to the Upper Tribunal for permission to appeal. If the Upper Tribunal grants you permission, this will form the basis of your appeal. If you were given permission by the First-Tier Tribunal, you will have to provide details of your appeal, your representatives, the details of the decision made by the First-Tier Tribunal, and why you want to appeal.
Appealing a decision at Tribunal can be stressful and it can help to have a representative. If you would like to know more about the judicial process, contact us here at The Accountancy Partnership.
