Bets, bards and beasts

22 November 2006 / Neil Warren

Issue: 4085 / Categories: Comment & Analysis , VAT

NEIL WARREN considers how three recent tribunal cases should encourage advisers to challenge the way they allocate input tax for partly exempt traders.

WHEN VAT WAS described in Parliament back in 1972 as a 'simple tax' the speaker of that famous phrase forgot two important words: partial exemption. Three recent tribunal cases have challenged one of the main principles of partial exemption namely the way that input tax is allocated between the different parts of a business. In two of these cases the taxpayer had surprise victories (as unexpected as Middlesbrough's early season win against Chelsea); HMRC won the third case but the result seems to contradict directly the result of one of the other cases. It is likely that at least two of the cases will go to the next stage of appeal indeed HMRC have already confirmed they are taking one of the cases to the Court of Appeal so there will be plenty of action to enjoy in the coming months.
The aim...

If you or your firm subscribes to Taxation.co.uk, please click the login box below:

If you are not a subscriber but are a registered user or have a free trial, please enter your details in the following boxes:

Subscribe Now...

Alternatively, you can register free of charge to read a limited amount of subscriber content per month.

Once you have registered, you will receive an email directing you back to read this item in full.

Please reach out to customer services at +44 (0) 330 161 1234 or 'customer.services@lexisnexis.co.uk' for further assistance.