Areas of Work

Tax and Finance

Members of Devereux Chambers undertake advisory and litigation work in the direct and indirect taxes, duties and national insurance contributions and have appeared in many of the leading cases in these fields.  Our work also extends into financial regulation, money laundering compliance, civil recovery and professional negligence.

We act for and against the Crown.

Our tax work includes advice and litigation in all the statutory tribunals and on appeal, and also on judicial review.

We are particularly familiar with litigation about tax avoidance, statutory investigation powers, assessment procedures and with remuneration and taxation of employees, the self-employed, agents and entertainers and sportsmen (where there is a substantial overlap with our employment and pensions work).

We deal with civil and criminal investigations, disclosures and disputes, confiscation and restraint. We are also familiar with the other matters within the jurisdiction of HM Revenue and Customs, such as the national minimum wage and statutory sick pay and other social entitlement payments.

Members of Chambers also act in professional negligence cases (court, arbitration and mediation) arising out of tax and finance matters. Examples include claims against an IFA (tax planning), against a barrister (international finance investment fraud); against solicitors (IHT and CGT) and a technically complex claim concerning collective investments.

Leading Cases

Some of the most recent of the scores of reported tax cases in which members of chambers have appeared include:

R (Prudential plc) v Special Commissioner [2010] EWCA Civ 1094 - statutory investigation powers; no legal professional privilege for accountants giving tax advice

Smallwood v HM Revenue and Customs [2010] EWCA Civ 778 - tax avoidance through double tax treaties; place of effective management and the 'Round the World' scheme

R (Gaines-Cooper) v HMRC [2010] EWCA Civ 83 - individual residence; interpretation and application of IR20 HMRC guidance on individual residence

Castillo, Operation Euripus [2010] EWCA Crim 658 - £250 million trading, tax fraud

Samra, Operation Ghast  [2010], £125 million trading, tax fraud

Micro Fusion 2004 - 1 LLP v HMRC [2010] EWCA Civ 260 - film finance scheme; appeal against deduction of film production costs

Thorpe v HMRC [2010] EWCA Civ 339 - correct tax treatment following withdrawal of approval of pension scheme

Stockler v HMRC [2010] EWCA Civ 893 - penalty provisions of the TMA; correct construction of s 95 TMA

Kearney v HMRC [2010] EWCA Civ 288 - national insurance contributions; whether contributor failed to exercise due care and diligence


Tuczka v HMRC [2010] UKFTT 53 (TC) - individual residence; whether foreign banker who came to work in the UK was resident and ordinarily resident in the relevant tax years

Hankinson v HMRC [2010] UKUT 361 (TCC) - validity of discovery assessments; construction and application of the discovery provisions of the TMA

Drummond v HM Revenue and Customs [2009] EWCA Civ 608 - tax avoidance through second-hand insurance policies; interrelation between income tax and CGT treatment 

Laerstate BV v Revenue & Customs [2009] UKFTT 209 (TC) - company residence; central management and control; place of effective management; application of Wood v Holden and Smallwood (Upper Tribunal, 2011) 

Grace v HMRC [2009] EWCA Civ 1082 - individual residence; residence status of an airline pilot

Chilcott v HMRC [2009] EWHC 3287 (Ch) - employee remuneration; notional payments; charge to income tax on failure to reimburse employer for PAYE liabilities on the exercise of share options

Opportunity Unique Fund  (2009), international asset restraint, alleged tax fraud, mutual assistance

Financial Investment Advisers [2009] Lloyd’s Rep: FC 221, tax film scheme, PACE production order

Maco Door and Window Hardware (UK) Ltd v HM Revenue and Customs [2008] STC 2564, [2008] UKHL 54 - industrial building allowances, meaning of 'part of a trade'

Agassi v Robinson [2006] UKHL 23, [2006] STC 1056 - taxation of non-resident international entertainers and sportsmen; non-resident company controlled by non-resident sportsman; whether payments under endorsement contracts chargeable to income tax in the UK

Hill & Hill [2005] EWCA 3271 - tax fraud, restraint proceedings, transitional provisions

Stannard [2005] EWCA Crim 2717 -  tax fraud, confiscation

 

Publications

The Anti-Money Laundering Disclosure Regime and the Collection of Revenue in the United Kingdom - [2010] 55(3) British Tax Review 1

Law and Regulation for Global Financial Markets, Enforcing the New Regime 2010] 4(4) Law of Financial Markets Review 346

 Fraud Reporting: A Shared Responsibility, Fraud Advisory Panel, 2010

 Fraud and Financial Crime, Research Note, Policy Exchange, 2010

Arlidge & Parry on Fraud, 3rd Ed, Sweet & Maxwell, 2007, chapter contributor: Tax Fraud