Court of Appeal decision in Hoey

The day of horrors unlucky for some proved so for many former users of contractor loan schemes. On Friday 13 May 2022 the Court of Appeal handed down its decision in Hoey and others v CRC [2022] EWCA Civ 656.

At a glance readers might be forgiven for thinking it is simply just another tax avoidance case in which users get the inevitable result. But as others notably tax barristers Keith Gordon and tax lawyer Sarah Gabbai have written on these pages this is a case which raises questions of taxpayer protection and ultimately whether HMRC has found a ‘get out of jail free’ card for the many cases in which it failed to assess the right party at the right time.

In writing I must declare a personal interest. I have assisted Mr Hoey’s legal team pro bono over a number of years. For...