A recent case shows that it is not always sufficient for HMRC to simply invoke the Ramsay principle in order to defeat tax planning.
Twenty-two years ago when I began my career as a young and fresh-faced lawyer at what was then the Inland Revenue Solicitor’s Office based in Somerset House times were very different. The Eurozone was a mere twinkle in the eye of future EU Finance Ministers Tolley’s Yellow Handbook was considerably slimmer than it is today and tax planning was generally considered to be a legitimate activity untainted by the rhetoric of politicians who regularly inform us that we are each of us under a moral duty to pay the ‘right tax’ and exposés in national newspapers.
Fast forward 22 years to 2012 and it has become apparent...
