Tax | Dance instructors lose VAT exemption appeal

Dance teachers who ran private lessons appealed against VAT assessments by HMRC as they argued their classes were commonly taught in schools

9 Jun 2025

Tax

VAT

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | Drycleaners lose £25k tax appeal over Bank Holiday pricing

The owners of a dry cleaners in Camden have lost an appeal against personal liability notices (PLNs) after failing to prove the average price of their service was lower than HMRC said

5 Jun 2025

Tax

Business Tax

VAT

HMRC

Tax Compliance

Case Reports

Tax | HMRC ordered to pay legal costs after ‘unreasonable’ actions

The First Tier Tribunal (FTT) has ordered HMRC to cover costs incurred to appeal a penalty that was dropped on the fourth day of a hearing as it was found to have been unreasonable

4 Jun 2025

Tax

VAT

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | Flooring directors lose £50k furlough claim against HMRC

HMRC has won an appeal after two directors of a flooring company failed to justify their claims for Coronavirus job retention scheme (CJRS) for almost £50,000

3 Jun 2025

Tax

Personal Tax

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | Supercar circuit wins £13k VAT appeal over ‘collective enjoyment’

HMRC has lost a dispute with the owner of a supercar driving experience in Scotland for reduced 5% VAT during pandemic as ‘collective enjoyment’ argument fails

30 May 2025

Tax

VAT

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | Suspected money launderers lose £900k tax appeal

A married couple the National Crime Agency suspected of attaining money through criminal activities have lost an appeal at Upper Tribunal as FTT was entitled to find there was a loss of tax

28 May 2025

Tax

HMRC

Tax Compliance

Case Reports

Tax | Walkers loses second poppadom VAT row

The Sensations poppadom is still a crisp in the eyes of HMRC as Upper Tribunal rules they are subject to the standard rate of VAT after Walkers appeal fails on every ground

27 May 2025

Tax

VAT

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | HMRC loses share valuation dispute as ‘ignored circumstances’

Neil Tipping, lead tax enquiry consultant at VIP Tax Team, explains how Croner-i resolved a long-running valuation case between HMRC and four shareholders over the sale of their business to their sons

22 May 2025

Tax

Business Tax

HMRC

Tax Compliance

Case Reports

Tax | Brummie restaurateur wins £1.4m tax case despite ‘chaotic record keeping’

The owner of a number of restaurants in Birmingham was not suppressing sales or deliberately filing wrongly as HMRC’s ‘decision was not based on evidence’

22 May 2025

Tax

VAT

HMRC

Tax Compliance

Case Reports

Tax | Inaccurate AI generated argument loses taxpayer £2.5k case

Judge finds appellant’s argument formed using an AI tool was inaccurate and not relevant which ‘highlights the dangers of reliance on AI tools without human checks’ resulting in the appeal being dismissed

21 May 2025

Tax

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | Taxpayer who owed no tax wins £1.7k penalty appeal

The First Tier Tribunal concluded a taxpayer had a reasonable excuse to miss filing a tax return as she owed no tax and HMRC emails went straight to her junk 

15 May 2025

Tax

Personal Tax

HMRC

Tax Compliance

Case Reports

Tax | Marathon promoter wins ‘excessive’ £330k R&D dispute

A company organising placements for marathon runners and virtual runs took HMRC to the tribunal after being ordered to repay over £330,000 in R&D relief, and won

15 May 2025

Tax

Business Tax

HMRC

Case Reports

Technology

Tax | Beneficiary of £850k estate loses IHT battle

The beneficiary of Mohammed Chugtai’s £850,000 estate placed into trusts has lost an appeal against an inheritance tax bill as deceased benefitted from the trusts

14 May 2025

Tax

Inheritance Tax

HMRC

Case Reports

Tax | Tribunal strikes out £7.4m Kittel VAT fraud appeal

A Yorkshire director of two liquidated companies chased down for millions in unpaid tax for almost a decade sees appeal struck out after failing to co-operate with tribunal

12 May 2025

Tax

VAT

HMRC

Case Reports

Business | Barrister ridiculed for using AI to make up cases at High Court

A junior barrister has been accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to create cases to support a case at the High Court, described as ‘extremely troubling’ by the judge

9 May 2025

Business

AI & Technology

Case Reports