Tax backlog swells

HMRC’s crackdown on tax avoidance has created a huge backlog of cases, with 28,521 disputes waiting to be heard by the First Tier Tax Tribunal at the end of 2016/17, according to Clara Boyd, legal director at Pinsent Masons. The number of complex cases launched in the Upper Tax Tribunal also surged last year to 404 from 288 in the previous year. Boyd said: ‘What some commentators see as HMRC’s aggressive litigation strategy can mean rulings take longer to reach—growing the backlog of cases. HMRC will give no ground and frequently will want to win every point.’