A franchisee of the takeaway sandwich chain Subway has lost the latest in a string of legal actions to prevent its toasted sandwiches from being standard-rated for VAT, following a Court of Appeal decision with implications for a number of fast food outlets.

Two businessmen who claimed to have been unwittingly involved as middle men in a VAT ‘carousel’ fraud over sales of industrial hose to the Middle East, and who found themselves kidnapped by criminal associates of the fraudsters, have won their appeals against penalties for dishonesty imposed by HMRC.

Steps taken by the Chancellor to close a potential stamp duty loophole have been given the judicial stamp of approval by one of the country’s top judges. She ruled that they were not ‘disproportionate’.

A taxpayer has won his appeal against £10,000 of penalties for late payment of tax after a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found he had a ‘reasonable excuse’ for failing to pay on time due to financial problems when his marriage broke down unexpectedly.

HMRC has tightened its grip on section 455 loans to owner managers, says Peter Rayney. Section 455, Corporation Tax Act 2010 (CTA 2010) is a key anti-avoidance weapon for owner-managed companies. Without it, owner managers could easily avoid a tax charge by arranging for ‘their’ company to lend them funds (as opposed to paying a ‘taxable’ bonus or dividend).

Take That was one of the big names caught up in the recent Acornwood case, also known as Icebreaker. Our resident tax expert, Meg Wilson, assesses the case and the implications for users of aggressive tax schemes