Taxpayer had de facto power to obtain documents

The taxpayer appealed against an information notice (FA 2008 Sch 36 para 1) in which HMRC sought documents about the company’s use of a remuneration trust scheme. The taxpayer said that some of the information was not reasonably required and that in some cases it was not within the taxpayer’s power to obtain.

The First-tier Tribunal held first that HMRC had satisfied the requirement to identify a tax issue justifying the information notice. This was the use of the remuneration trust structure to achieve a tax deduction for the company while avoiding taxation on payments made to employees.

On whether particular documents were reasonably required the tribunal rejected the taxpayer’s arguments that they background information and therefore not reasonably required. The judge said it was wrong for HMRC to be told to make assumptions about what one taxpayer has done as a result of information about others. Even...