1 min read
HMRC’s Litigation and Settlement Strategy (LSS), the Code of Governance for Resolving Tax Disputes and the Commentary on the LSS form the framework within which HMRC seeks to resolve tax disputes through civil procedures. This framework was first put in place in 2007 but has been updated a number of times, most recently with effect from October 2017. This refresh is welcome given the changing nature and growing number and value of tax disputes: according to HMRC’s annual accounts, over £9bn of tax disputes were referred to the Tax Disputes Review Board in 2016/17, compared to approximately £3bn in 2015/16, and the number of referrals increased by over 50% year on year. Substantively much of the LSS, Code and Commentary remains the same with the more obvious changes simply reflecting developments in HMRC’s governance structure. However, there are a number of more subtle changes that are revealing both about the way HMRC has been conducting many large disputes recently and how taxpayers can be better prepared if or when they have a dispute. In that regard, it’s worth remembering that the Commentary is explicit that HMRC has ‘a broader definition’ of a dispute than is generally accepted, so ‘all areas of non-agreement’ with HMRC are potentially within this framework.
This article was first published in the 1 December 2017 edition of Tax Journal.