HICBC and discovery assessment powers: There is no sign of the flow of high income child benefit charge (HICBC) cases drying up. HMRC presumably hoped that the retrospective legislation to reverse the decision in Wilkes [2020] UKUT 150 (TCC) where the discovery powers were found to be inadequate to assess the charge would have ended disputes about its assessing powers. However the case of P Ashe v HMRC [2023] UKFTT 538 (TC) (22 June) shows that the retrospective legislation has created another strand of litigation. Under the new rules HMRC is able to use its retrospective discovery powers unless three conditions are met: an appeal was made to HMRC before 30 June 2021; the appeal was temporarily paused before 27 October 2021; and it is reasonable to conclude that the temporary pausing of the appeal occurred wholly or partly on the basis that the Wilkes issue...
