VAT’s not cricket

I am a cricket coach and I don’t like visiting my accountant so I usually try to get my annual visit out of the way in January.

This year I got a bit of a shock when he told me how much tax I would have to pay by the end of the month and that more would be due by the end of July.

I wish I had gone to see my dentist because it would have been less painful. The other problem is that my accountant thinks I may have to register for VAT.

He says that I am definitely supplying private tuition independently of an employer but he is not sure whether HMRC will accept that cricket is a subject ordinarily taught in a school.

My accountant’s concern seems to be that a sport that is only played in a relaxed manner when the weather...