Upper Tribunal decision in Grint

Key points

• Actor fails to overturn the First-tier Tribunal’s decision on appeal concerning his accounts.
• Accounting date was changed to move income to the previous year.
• Adviser prepared two separate sets of accounts for 2009-10 but also one set for a 20-month period.
• No satisfactory conclusion on whether the ‘return accounts’ qualify as accounts.

The Upper Tribunal has confirmed the First-tier Tribunal’s decision dismissing the taxpayer’s appeal on the correct application of the rules governing changes in accounting date for individuals. The background to the events was the introduction of the 50% rate on high incomes from 2010-11. The taxpayer wanted to bring forward to 2009-10 income that would otherwise have been taxed in 2010-11. This would have meant that he would pay tax on it a year earlier than he needed to but it would have reduced the total payable over the two years. No figures are included in the...