HMRC’s crackdown on tax avoidance has created a huge backlog of cases, with 28,521 disputes waiting to be heard by the First Tier Tax Tribunal at the end of 2016/17, according to Clara Boyd, legal director at Pinsent Masons. The number of complex cases launched in the Upper Tax Tribunal also surged last year to 404 from 288 in the previous year. Boyd said: ‘What some commentators see as HMRC’s aggressive litigation strategy can mean rulings take longer to reach—growing the backlog of cases. HMRC will give no ground and frequently will want to win every point.’
26 April 2018
Tax backlog swells
MOVERS & SHAKERS
Bell Yard Kysen—Liz Giles
Bell Yard Kysen appoints senior legal PR and ex-government communications adviser, Liz Giles
Clarke Willmott—Lee Edwards
Clarke Willmott boosts Southampton commercial property team with addition of partner Lee Edwards
Lime Solicitors—four promotions
Lime Solicitors announces four promotions
NEWS
The Attorney General, Ellie Reeves KC MP, and Solicitor General, Andy Slaughter KC MP, marked the 25th anniversary of Pro Bono Week by joining lawyers, charities, students and parliamentarians at events celebrating voluntary legal work
A polished legal defence may owe more to artificial intelligence than legal merit—and creditors risk paying the price in delay and expense
Witness evidence can be compromised by AI before a solicitor sees the draft, leaving safeguards focused on authorship incomplete
Possession claims are entering a new digital era, with procedural traps awaiting practitioners who assume familiar rules still govern every step
The Environment Agency can prosecute offences beyond environmental legislation where proceedings support its statutory functions, the Divisional Court has confirmed
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