What can you legitimately expect?

The starting point to any legitimate expectation claim is the criteria set out by Lord Justice Bingham in MFK Underwriting namely that a statement must be ‘clear unambiguous and devoid of relevant qualification’ to found a legitimate expectation. In considering whether the MFK criteria are met one must assume a hypothetical ordinarily sophisticated taxpayer and it is irrelevant whether the claimant is in receipt of professional advice. Increasingly HMRC publications assert that no reliance may be placed on statements therein for tax planning purposes. However where this