FTT for purpose?

David R Harris LLM Prince Henry’s Chambers writes...

After the vilification heaped upon tax advisers in recent years by HMRC we should be entitled to enquire whether HMRC themselves are delivering the level of impartial service that the public is entitled to expect from a government department.

The point was made in my article Manual transmission that the guidance offered by HMRC in their manuals does not always distinguish between the law as laid down by Parliament and the courts and the department’s own interpretation of that law. Indeed HMRC sometimes appear to think that there is no such distinction to be drawn.

Since the manuals are in theory intended for the use of taxpayers acting without other advice as well as tax specialists it is questionable whether such an approach is justified.

A consequence is that the department’s...