Taxpayer wins IR35 case in S&L Barnes

A tax appeal brought by S & L Barnes Limited (TC8697) (SLB) (tinyurl.com/5n7nbw9u) involving rugby expert Stuart Barnes has been upheld by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) by Judge Heidi Poon. Mr Barnes was a top-level rugby union player throughout the 1980s and early 1990s then leveraged his expertise to become a published writer for various newspapers and magazines. He also offered commentator co-commentator and punditry services for a range of global sports broadcasters.

The periods under appeal focused on whether the intermediaries legislation (ITEPA 2003 Ch 8) commonly referred to as ‘IR35’ applied to contracts between 6 April 2013 and 5 April 2019 when British Sky Broadcasting Limited (Sky) engaged Mr Barnes as a co-commentator. IR35 and its more recent incarnation under off-payroll (ITEPA 2003 Ch 10) is legislation designed to tax engagements where workers provide their...