Accountants have no legal privilege when it comes to handing over tax advice, the High Court has ruled. In a case brought by insurer Prudential, the judge ruled that advice given by accountants on tax planning schemes will have to be disclosed automatically, and may not be withheld on grounds that it is legally privileged information. This is in contrast to advice from a law firm, where tax advice is legally privileged. The judge said that what was being sought in the case, against HM Revenue & Customs, was not 'pure legal advice' but information concerning the nature of transactions. The High Court's decision does not come as a surprise but it is likely to be appealed against. It may also end up being reviewed by the Supreme Court. Jason Collins, partner at commercial law firm Mcrigors, said: 'This ruling will come as a big disappointment to the accountancy firms and I expect that leave to appeal will be sought.' He added: 'Taxpayers are becoming increasingly reluctant to discuss their tax affairs openly with accountants because of HMRC's far-reaching powers to seize correspondence. This trend is now likely to continue, and may ironically lead to greater non-compliance.' Getting hold of accountants' advice could 'save huge amounts of work' for HMRC.