SUCCESS
Please click
here to read about recently case conclusions.
Background; understanding the Tax Inspector
Difficult as it may be to accept in a "democratic" society,
HMRC does not need to prove or consider anything! The bottom
line is that it is sufficient for HMRC to raise a challenge to a
situation, and then leave it to the taxpayer to prove his situation!
If HMRC states that a taxpayer owes £X then he does
until it is disproved by the taxpayer!
Success; Example Balance of Probabilities
It is critical to realise that the judgement to be applied to any
situation of uncertainty is not based on concrete evidence! It is
the "balance of probabilities", what is more
likely to be the true situation! Take the following example.
You leave the office at 9.00 am, pay cash at the train station
for a ticket to Paddington, forget the receipt and at Paddington
1.00 pm, the barrier swallows your ticket. You have no tangible
evidence that you incurred the cost.
You can however demonstrate that you were at your office at 9.00
am and Paddington at 1.00 pm. On the "balance of probabilities"
you must have incurred the cost, it's that simple and that's the
end of the matter, regardless what HMRC protests.
Success and Us
Success is what we do, it's why it's called forensic accountancy!
Our job is to work through the detail of the case. We identify the
elements of a case that support the solution and then script them
into a viable situation which will carry the case on the balance
of probabilities. Every case is unique. It may involve the identification
and interpretation of relevant legislation, or something entirely
different, such as the foregoing example involving a train ticket.
We rather like this example which really demonstrates how the balance of probabilities can be
brought to bear. You can see more examples by clicking
here to go to the "Examples" page. Please give me
a call to discuss your case.
Repeating what we say elsewhere, we do not make a charge to appraise
a case and provide the following, without cost or obligation
- An assessment of your situation.
- Our prognosis as to the likely outcome.
- An estimate of the fee we will charge if you wish to proceed
with us. You do not incur any cost unless you instruct
us to take matters further.
Please give me a call to discuss your case.
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