TV personalities Richard & Judy have won a tax case with HMRC. The case was about whether they could claim payments made to agencies from their employment income. The case revolved around whether Richard and Judy were "entertainers" because it is only entertainers that are allowed to claim the deduction. HMRC were arguing that they were simply "playing themselves" as opposed to being "actors".

Whilst the particular circumstances of the case are unlikely to be relevant to most taxpayers it does highlight...

• Tax law is often not fair. Why should the law be that only entertainers can deduct this expense?
• Tax law is very often in grey areas. Just because HMRC take a particular view doesn't mean they are right.
• What HMRC say is only their opinion. It is not necessarily the law.
• Only by being prepared to challenge HMRC can you win. In fact, it is often the case that they will back down when challenged correctly on technical grounds.

So if you have a dispute with the taxman you need assistance with please contact us for a second opinion before conceding the argument.

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