Hoey and others v HMRC

In Hoey and others v HMRC [2022] EWCA Civ 656 (13 May 2022) the Court of Appeal (CA) rejected the taxpayer’s appeal that concerned a disguised remuneration loan scheme ruling that HMRC retained a discretion under ITEPA 2003 s 684(7A)(b) that can operate retrospectively which had the effect that the taxpayer’s income tax liability had be paid by him without setting off notional PAYE deductions that would otherwise have been treated as made by the end users.

This is an appeal by the taxpayer (H) to the CA against a decision of the Upper Tribunal (UT). H was a UK-based IT contractor providing services to UK end users. H’s employers made contributions to employee benefit trusts (EBTs) which in turn made loans to H. It was accepted that the contributions to the EBT were taxable employment income of H. Because H’s employers were based outside the UK the law...