We advise individuals, governments and businesses on their taxation position and act in tax litigation.

Members of chambers often appear in high profile contentious tax litigation. We also act for private clients and trustees in cases where planning has gone wrong, including mistake, rectification and negligence cases. Tax advice is often given in relation to the settlement of contentious trust and probate cases.

Contentious Tax

Members of chambers have appeared in the Ingenious and Icebreaker/Acornwood litigation involving nearly a billion pounds of tax at stake and also the Rangers Football Club employee benefit trust case. Some members have particular experience dealing with customs work and capital allowance claims as well as IHT appeals. Members are in an excellent position to undertake contentious tax work as they often have both tax expertise and also a wealth of more general Chancery litigation expertise.

Tax Advice

Members of chambers at all levels are able to provide tax planning advice for trustees and private clients. Members also have expertise in dealing with cases involving tax planning that require Court approval on behalf of minor and unborn beneficiaries.

Christopher Whitehouse is the joint author of Trust Taxation and Estate Planning and also Dymond’s Inheritance Tax.

Acting for a wide range of clients, including developers, investors, estates, indemnity insurers and lenders, as well as individuals, Chambers offers a full service in these areas. Members appear in real property matters in all courts from the specialist property tribunals up to Supreme Court. Members of chambers have appeared in several of the leading proprietary estoppel cases, including the House of Lords decision in Thorner v Major & others [2009] UKHL 18.

Tax Mistakes

Members of chambers frequently act in rectification and mistake cases where a tax mistake has occurred. This is often helpful in mitigating the consequences of such errors.

Members are also in an excellent position to act in professional negligence cases where the negligence has caused a tax loss, as they have both tax expertise and litigation expertise.

Penelope Reed QC and Mark Baxter are joint authors of Risk and Negligence in Wills, Estates and Trusts.