Stories to make you sweat

KEY POINTS

• Commercial landlords and VAT on storage.
• Concept of fiscal neutrality.
• Hairdressers’ chair rental.
• Warning for betting businesses.

When the editor asked me to write an article on “VAT horror stories” to coincide with the Hallowe’en edition my initial thinking was to reveal a number of practical situations which which I could frighten you about the traps and pitfalls that exist in the mysterious world of the nation’s favourite tax.

However roles have been reversed and HMRC recently frightened me with their very wide interpretation of the new legislation effective on 1 October 2012 in relation to the Budget plan of dealing with “borderline anomalies” in the world of VAT in particular those affecting storage and hairdresser chair rental.

As one of the horrors could affect about 100 000 commercial...