Costly, but tax deductible?

IN DAYS GONE by it was not unknown for investigating Inspectors to review the accounts for the year following an enquiry to check up on the amount of accountancy fees claimed the object being to disallow any additional accountancy costs incurred as a consequence of the enquiry. However those were gentler days and Inspectors did not always subject accounts to successive enquiries.
In today's harsher times it sometimes appears that an Inspector's (now Officer's) appetite for seeking disallowances has increased as has the detail of enquiries and the associated costs of compliance. While this might be an impression coloured by nostalgia it is undeniable that detailed enquiries into corporate clients remain costly and time consuming for businesses. Contentious enquiries can last for years and this is certainly so where the point at issue involves a referral to the Commissioners.
In such cases the...