Tax disputes reach record levels

 Tax disputes reach record level

Tax disputes to be settled by litigation have reached a record level, with 30,000 tribunal cases waiting to be dealt with as of the end of last year. Tax appeals to the first tier tribunal increased by 8.5% to 29,566 in the year to last December. The number of appeals waiting to be heard by the upper tax tribunal rose by nearly 40% over the year to 310. New judges have also been recruited to cope with the growing number of tax disputes that are expected to result from “accelerated payments” legislation. HM Courts and Tribunals Service said the new APN cases had not yet started to come through, and that 70% of the current caseload was on hold pending the result of a small number of lead cases at the Upper Tribunal or higher courts say Harris & Co chartered accountants Northampton