Contentious tax in 2017

2017 has been a contentious year on many fronts – from announcing the wrong Oscar winner to the rather more serious Brexit negotiations – and things have been no less challenging for businesses attempting to resolve their tax disputes. In part that reflects the way the media landscape remains hostile to anyone not paying their ‘fair share’ of tax (whatever that may be) which is a sentiment unlikely to lessen with the steady supply of ‘offshore revelations’ such as from the Panama and paradise papers and law firms’ leaks or the anti-business momentum of certain parts of the political spectrum. However many of the difficulties relate to the application of new legislation...