In Alastair Graham Knights, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs Limited and Knights Investment Management Limited v Townsend Harrison Ltd [2021] EWHC 2563, the High Court (HC) adjudged that an accounting firm neither had nor had breached, a duty of care when providing introductions to providers of tax avoidance schemes.

The HC dismissed the claims finding that:

Comment

Firms that have received commissions from introducing clients to promoters of tax schemes will want to read this case in detail.

While this case was certainly a positive outcome for THL, the result did rest on its facts. A lot of the alleged advice was undocumented and the judge put little weight on submissions by both the claimants and defendants due to the passage of time.

Useful guides on this topic

Tax avoidance schemes
How do you spot tax avoidance schemes? What are the types of schemes available that should be avoided? What disclosure requirements are there? When are tax clearances needed?

Disguised remuneration
What is disguised remuneration? What is the loan charge? When does the loan charge apply? Will the loan charge affect me?

External links

Alastair Graham Knights, Evergreen Trees and Shrubs Limited and Knights Investment Management Limited v Townsend Harrison Ltd EWHC 2563

 


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