The Good Law Project, led by Jolyon Maugham QC, has ‘opened up a new front’ in its legal challenge against Uber’s position that the company does not make taxable supplies of transportation services. Maugham started proceedings in the High Court in June to force Uber to issue a VAT receipt in respect of a taxi journey he took in March. He has now written to HMRC, taking a new tack.
In the letter, he asks HMRC to exercise its discretion under the VAT Regs to allow his claim for the recovery of input tax on that journey, for the princely sum of £1.06, even though he does not hold a VAT receipt to support the claim. The thinking behind this approach, in Maugham’s own words, is: ‘If HMRC decides to allow my claim, it will be accepting that I have paid £1.06 input tax to Uber; and, implicitly, that it has to collect that £1.06 from Uber.’ This supports the Good Law Project’s main challenge, he adds, since: ‘If that is true for my £1.06, it will also be so for every other £1.06 Uber has ever charged.’
If HMRC refuses the claim, Maugham has signalled his intention to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, where costs do not weigh as heavily as in the High Court.
The Good Law Project, led by Jolyon Maugham QC, has ‘opened up a new front’ in its legal challenge against Uber’s position that the company does not make taxable supplies of transportation services. Maugham started proceedings in the High Court in June to force Uber to issue a VAT receipt in respect of a taxi journey he took in March. He has now written to HMRC, taking a new tack.
In the letter, he asks HMRC to exercise its discretion under the VAT Regs to allow his claim for the recovery of input tax on that journey, for the princely sum of £1.06, even though he does not hold a VAT receipt to support the claim. The thinking behind this approach, in Maugham’s own words, is: ‘If HMRC decides to allow my claim, it will be accepting that I have paid £1.06 input tax to Uber; and, implicitly, that it has to collect that £1.06 from Uber.’ This supports the Good Law Project’s main challenge, he adds, since: ‘If that is true for my £1.06, it will also be so for every other £1.06 Uber has ever charged.’
If HMRC refuses the claim, Maugham has signalled his intention to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, where costs do not weigh as heavily as in the High Court.
