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The taxpayer ran a transport business. In 2002 one of his lorries struck and killed a pedestrian.
The driver was convicted of manslaughter and the taxpayer was charged with gross-negligence manslaughter and attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was convicted of the latter crime but not the former.
In his self-assessment tax return for 2003/04 the taxpayer included a claim for the legal fees incurred in defending himself. HMRC said the expenses were not allowable; the taxpayer appealed.
He said his sole purpose in defending the gross-negligence manslaughter charge was to enable him to retain his operator’s licence without which he would not have been able to run his business.
The First-tier Tribunal did not accept that the business was the taxpayer’s main concern in defending himself in court. It was common sense...
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