Key points
- The Court of Appeal has found for the taxpayer in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWCA Civ 177.
- The appellants and more than 50 other appellants in cases stayed behind Northumbria are hoping for a £70m windfall.
- This decision will have practical implications for any advisers with clients operating in the public sector.
- HMRC may appeal this decision to the Supreme Court but its likelihood of success may be doubted.
The Court of Appeal has unanimously found for the taxpayer in its recent decision in Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust [2024] EWCA Civ 177.
As a result the court has changed utterly the position taken by both the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) and Upper Tribunal (UT) in the case to the delight not just of the appellant (the trust) but also more than 50 other appellants in cases stayed behind this one. Taken together...