Case Studies
For many years we have gone about our routine day to day tasks, working on behalf of our clients to ensure their affairs are in order and their tax liabilities are kept as low as possible. Once in a while however a case will come along which is not quite straight forward and requires a little extra attention. Needless to say it is very satisfying when the right result is achieved…
Mr R made a large profit on land which he had purchased and then sold on after obtaining planning permission.
A Capital Gains tax bill of £132,000 arose but by this time the funds had been placed in other business ventures which had, unfortunately, not performed as had been expected.
This was in 1992 (which by todays’ standards the liability would be approaching £1 million). His accountant at the time was an ex HM Inspector of Taxes.
We were approached to see if anything could be done to retrieve the situation.
After putting forward a case that his investments, both good and bad, were all part of his normal day to day trading and used the assessment rules in force at the time to his advantage his final Capital Gains tax bill was settled at £27,000
One very happy (and relieved) client who has remained with us ever since.
Mrs C, a prominent and recognised actress in a long running established TV show.
She was concerned about the amount of tax she was paying and approached us for advice. After reviewing her tax returns for the current and previous years which had already been submitted, we submitted amendments after applying additional expenses which had not initially been considered. A tax reduction approaching £15,000 was achieved.
Sometimes effective solutions are really quite simple.
Mr D was a director with a national kitchen retail and installation company. On leaving the company after a management buy-out when it hit financial hardship he unfortunately suffered a mild heart attack soon after starting up his own kitchen company.
By taking full advantage of all available tax relief options available we were able to aid his recovery with a tax refund from HMRC of £36,000.
Mr W runs an agricultural small holding alongside regular full time employment and had always looked after his own tax returns.
We were able to claim back several thousand pounds for him simply by registering him for VAT in order to re-claim input tax on all his farming equipment and ensuring that all expenses were claimed for in order to set these against tax deducted on his employment income.
Mr G had run a successful building business for several years. On a routine VAT inspection visit the Customs Officer picked up on a property renovation where VAT had been charged at a reduced rate of 5% instead of the normal standard rate of 20% and issued assessments for the shortfall in excess of £29,000.
The 5% rate can be charged if all the qualifying criteria are met but after moving offices the client had misplaced the original project paperwork and vital evidence to support the claim. By lodging the relevant appeals we were able to keep the case “live” beyond the usual time limits and when the paperwork duly turned up were able to claim repayment of the sum plus interest.