In Forde & McHugh Ltd v HMRC (Upper Tribunal – 2 March) a company made payments to a funded unapproved retirement benefit scheme for the benefit of one of its directors. HMRC issued a determination that Class 1 national insurance contributions were due in respect of the payments. The Upper Tribunal allowed the company’s appeal applying the QB decision in Tullett & Tokyo Forex International Ltd v Secretary of State for Social Security [2000] EWHC Admin 350 and declining to follow the contrasting Special Commissioners’ decision in Telent plc v HMRC [2008] SSCD 202. The Upper Tribunal held that ‘whatever doubts we may have about the outcome in Tullett & Tokyo High Court decisions were ‘entitled to the very greatest respect and we should only depart from them if we are satisfied that they were clearly wrong or decided per incuriam’.
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