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Traders who choose to put tax at the bottom of their payment priorities are asking for trouble. However, in one case, a businessman persuaded a tax tribunal that he acted reasonably in delaying VAT payments so that he could pay his hard-pressed staff in...
Business owners who feel that their non-domestic rates bills are unfairly high should seek professional advice without delay. The point was powerfully made by the case of a determined hotel owner who successfully argued that the valuation of his premises...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are always on the alert to spot businesses that suppress their cash takings with a view to avoiding tax. However, as a tax tribunal ruling concerning an insolvent fish and chip shop chain showed , suspicions of deliberate...
Should NHS trusts be permitted to provide VAT-free parking to patients, staff and visitors, or would that amount to an impermissible distortion of competition? With around £70 million in tax at stake, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has decisively answered...
Should jumbo, American-style marshmallows, usually used for roasting over an open fire, be classified as confectionary? By answering 'no' to that question, a tribunal left HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) with a bitter taste in its mouth . The case concerned...
Those involved in the hospitality or retail trade who suppress their cash takings with a view to avoiding tax must live in fear that the next person to walk through the door will be a tax inspector. As a case concerning a takeaway restaurant showed , such...
International trading companies are expected to carry out careful due diligence on their clients and suppliers to ensure that they avoid unwitting involvement in tax fraud. However, in relieving a long-established business of multi-million-pound VAT...
When companies experience cashflow difficulties, stressed directors all too often prioritise trade and other creditors over HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). As a tax tribunal ruling showed, however, such a course is almost never wise and is highly likely to...
No one would be surprised to hear that late filing of a tax return is likely to result in a financial penalty – but what if a return is submitted too early? In addressing that novel issue, the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) identified flaws in guidance...
Businesses that operate in highly regulated fields can be permanently shut down at the stroke of an official pen. However, as a case concerning the wholesale liquor trade made plain , the law requires that such decisions are reasonable. The case involved a...
