Appeal court ruling proves the taxman owes firms a duty of care

摘要

A small civil engineering contractor has won a landmark Court of Appeal ruling allowing him to sue the taxman after Inland Revenue mistakes twice destroyed his livelihood. Neil Martin, who runs his own civil engineering company in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, spent eight years and £140,000 to prove that the Revenue owes taxpayers a duty of care. The decision could open the way for contractors to go to court if they lose money through tax officers' negligence.