Rough tax justice – finally? Upper Tribunal decision in S&L Barnes Ltd

Keen IR35 readers will recall we’ve co-written four previous ‘Rough tax justice’ pieces which have all focused on the criticality of robust fact-finding necessary to discharge the burden of proof at a First-tier Tribunal (FTT) appeal hearing.

Our previous article ‘Rough tax justice – almost again’ (Taxation 4 January 2024) examined the fourth hearing decision in the nine-year-long case of Atholl House Productions Limited (TC7088). We concluded that incorrect decisions can be caused by adopting narrow legal approaches that ignore the wider factorial matrix and that considering the broader picture when making multi-factorial status determinations places a heavier compliance burden on taxpayers and HMRC.

We revisit the specialist fact-finding topic in light of the Upper Tribunal decision in CRC v S & L Barnes Ltd [2024] UKUT 262 (TCC) (SLBL) a case involving Stuart Barnes the former rugby player and Sky Sports pundit....