Tax Litigation

The UK’s tax laws are increasingly complicated, often resulting in businesses and individuals receiving unexpected tax demands and threats of penalties and fines that, if unchallenged, can lead to lost homes and jobs, divorce, bankruptcy and even suicide.

Griffin Law acts for businesses, business owners and other taxpayers who find themselves, often through no fault of their own, in dispute with HMRC.

Increasingly in recent years, HMRC’s powers have grown. As is often the case when powers grow, so do abuses of those powers. All too frequently, we find ourselves having to remind clients, accountants and HMRC themselves that just because HMRC says something is the case, that does not mean that it is. Parliament makes legislation and courts or tribunals independently interpret our laws.

Working with specialist barristers, we can cost-effectively handle:

• HMRC, Financial Conduct Authority and National Crime Agency enquiries;
• challenging HMRC discovery assessments, penalties, information and document requests;
• settlement negotiations, including HMRC sponsored alternative dispute resolution;
• challenges to Schedule 36, follower or accelerated payment notices;
• disguised remuneration, loan charge and fraud investigations;
• judicial reviews and tax legislation challenges; and
• challenges to tax assessments and determination in the First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal, appellate and European courts.

As now clearly required by statute and regulation, Griffin Law does not and cannot provide advice or assistance to anyone that might amount to the promotion or enabling of tax avoidance.

The only advice or assistance that Griffin Law can provide to taxpayers who have used what HMRC might contend are tax avoidance schemes, including remuneration trusts, is in representing clients before the courts or tribunals, helping in settlement discussions with HMRC, and assisting with HMRC inquiry correspondence.

Griffin Law will only do so upon clients signing a declaration of non-use of remuneration trusts as tax avoidance. If that declaration is not signed, no advice or assistance properly can or will be provided.

Our role is to help take the worry of dealing with HMRC away from you wherever we can. If you have made a mistake, we will help you rectify it. If HMRC is mistaken, we will help you challenge their decision.

To discuss how the experts in this area can help you, please contact justice@griffin.law