One minute with - some highlights from 2023

I would like to change the way tax law is made in the UK. It is hard to avoid the conclusion that, at present, HMRC has too much influence over the making of tax law, and that the process is inadequate. Arguments from within HMRC that legislative changes are necessary are not assessed as critically as they should be, an issue that particularly affects legislation on HMRC’s investigatory powers and powers of sanction. Moreover, when new tax law is drawn up, there is no effective supervision.

What we need (although I fully appreciate that this sounds Panglossian) is a statutory minimum period for draft tax legislation to be reviewed and refined before it is presented to Parliament, and an expert, genuinely independent body to do the reviewing and improving. Dominic Lawrance, Charles Russell Speechlys

I would simplify the UK’s tax management laws, particularly those relating to post-submission compliance check processes, into one new Act. TMA 1970 is showing its pre-digitalisation age and processes could be streamlined for the benefit of taxpayers, HMRC and agents. As part of this, consequential claim rules should be overhauled so taxpayers don’t need to pay more tax when making a disclosure than they would have done if they filed correctly in the first place. Helen Adams, BDO

What do you know now that you wish you’d known at the start of your career?

Two things stand out. First, teams are crucial, I have been very fortunate to work in two excellent tax teams in my career to date and making sure that you have people around you who will support you and work with you to find solutions makes an at times hard job manageable and enjoyable. Second, no-one knows all the answers so don’t allow the bravado of others to put you off giving your view. The beauty of practicing tax law is that it is constantly evolving, allowing for opportunity to learn new areas and develop new pockets of expertise. Chris Agnoli, Ropes & Gray

Try not to worry about the amount that you don’t know. By all means do your best to improve your knowledge, but no-one knows everything there is to know about tax (and I would be suspicious of anyone who says they do). I think what changes as you get more experience is you deepen (and/or broaden) your understanding of what you do know and have a better idea of what it is that you don’t know. The known unknowns are considerably less scary than the unknown unknowns. Brin Rajathurai, Allen & Overy

That a career doesn’t have to be a straight line. A few years after qualifying, the obvious and expected route was to keep on going for the next promotion. With the benefit of hindsight, I am glad I took a more meandering path, following my passion for unpicking the law. Moving out of a law firm and into a technical role within a commercial organisation opened up experiences that would not have presented themselves at that point in my career in a law firm. It also gave me the space to feel that applying for a fee-paid judicial role was something that I could do. These varied inputs along the way have made me a better lawyer and (I hope!) a better team member. I don’t know what the rest of my career will hold, but I will focus more on growing my knowledge and experience than on the next rung of the ladder. Abigail McGregor, Pinsent Masons

The importance of having an effective network. The best networks often come from people whom you have worked with before and who can provide good referral sources. I would have really appreciated more opportunities to work with in-house tax and legal teams at an earlier level in my career. Sarah Gabbai, McDermott Will & Emery

One important thing I wish I had appreciated at an earlier stage is that tax is enormously wide-ranging and complex, and that clients and colleagues are generally very accepting of this fact and rarely demand an on-the-spot answer to any question. Clients would much rather be advised accurately than in a rush. A related point that I wish I had recognised earlier is that, if someone gives the impression that they know everything about every topic straight away, they are most likely bluffing.

Another thing I wish I knew is that you never know where a career in tax is going to take you. If you had told me as a trainee that qualifying into the tax group would lead to me flying to Dar es Salaam to litigate a withholding tax case in the Court of Appeal of Tanzania, or presenting on the corporate criminal ‘failure to prevent’ offence to a room full of Premier League footballers, I never would have believed you. Rob Sharpe, Kirkland & Ellis

Perhaps that it pays to be patient. The most important quality of a professional adviser – good judgment – is something that for most of us can only be expected to come with time, as you acquire technical skills, commercial experience and learn from those around you. The other would be to appreciate early the many advantages that come from knowing when to keep your mouth shut. Dominic Foulkes, Davis Polk

While there can be bad advice, there’s no such thing as good advice – only advice that meets the client’s needs. Some simply want the commercial answer, some want every detail of the reasoning, and to understand the background fully so they can make a calibrated judgement themselves. That’s why knowing your clients is crucial and, wherever possible, advising directly. Where your advice is fed through a chain – whether the chain is of colleagues or within a client team – it’s much harder to get this right. Sarah Lane, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

I would remind anyone at the start of their career to always step back and look at the bigger picture. The details matter in tax – and you have to get them right – but it’s easy to get bogged down in the minutiae. Stopping to talk something through with a colleague is usually the best way to get a fresh perspective and is always worthwhile. John Meehan, Stephenson Harwood 

Dealing with tax disputes is just as much about dealing with people as it is dealing with technical disputes. The decisions people make about tax and about settling tax disputes don’t take place in a vacuum. It is not always the obvious commercial issues which drive behaviour. Karin Shanks, Jon Preshaw Tax

I would be more willing to take controlled risks and move outside of my comfort zone when seeking career development opportunities. As I have progressed in my career, I have become more confident in doing so and have seen the benefits – which leaves me wondering what if I started earlier! Emmet Bulman, PwC 

The best piece of work-related advice you’ve been given?

If I had to pick one thing, I would say that it’s important to remember that, when analysing a statutory provision, you should pan the proverbial camera back as far as possible – starting with the provision itself, then the Chapter, then the Part, and so on – even looking at predecessor provisions and surrounding case law. It’s only when you construe a provision in context that it can be properly understood, and the intention of Parliament ascertained. Constantine Christofi, formerly RPC

Has a recent tax case caught your eye?

I am still fuming (on behalf of Rory Mullan KC, I guess) about the Hoey case ([2022] EWCA Civ 656), which gives HMRC such a wide power under ITEPA 2003 s 684(7A)(b) in regard to the operation of PAYE that employees will be looking over their shoulders for a long time, I suspect. It will be very interesting to see how much HMRC uses it. On the flip side, the case also contains a vital and entirely sound conclusion about the deductibility of payments where there is a tax avoidance motive. Ross Birkbeck, Old Square Tax Chambers

What issues have clients been raising?

I have seen a significant increase in work relating to the mixed member partnerships provisions (due I suspect to my role in Walewski [2021] UKUT 133, being the first piece of litigation on these provisions). The increase in instructions indicates that there are a large number of challenges being made to LLP profit allocations based on these provisions and that there is a strong appetite to resist such challenges given that these provisions can apply to wholly commercial situations. Aparna Nathan KC, Devereux Chambers

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