Importance of dealing with enquiries correctly

The title of this article was something an inspector of taxes said to me after the report of our first win at the First-tier Tribunal was published in Taxation (‘No deliberate intent’ 21 November 2016 page 6).

The inspector was one of the last few classically trained inspectors I can remember dealing with at HMRC and is quite on point regarding this case.

I am sure he will be reading this article and will not mind me saying that he was practical and sensible in his handling of a very long case which we had both been working on amicably together and managed to resolve.

For me the case highlights some of the key differences in the way HMRC used to deal with enquiries and how they now rely heavily on the use of computers. It also highlights the importance of dealing with tax...