Confidential information

The Supreme Court, in allowing the taxpayers’ appeal, held that disclosures relating to them, which had been made by the defendant Revenue and Customs Commissioners’ then Permanent Secretary for Tax to journalists during an “off the record” meeting, had not been justified under s 18(2)(a) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. The court held that s 18(1) of the Act was intended to reflect the ordinary principle of taxpayer confidentiality and that, on its true construction, s 18(2)(a)(i) of the Act, interpreted narrowly, created an exception by permitting disclosure to the extent reasonably necessary for the Revenue to fulfil its primary function.