Tax Treaty Case Law around the Globe 2020

S. 41Chapter 4 United Kingdom: Fowler v. Revenue & Customs Commissioners

Philip Baker

4.1. Introduction

Readers of previous years’ volumes in this series will already be well aware of this case: the decision of the First-Tier Tribunal was discussed at Vienna in 2016, and the decision of the Upper Tribunal was analysed in Tax Treaty Cases for 2017. Since then, the case has moved forward. In November 2018, the Court of Appeal, by a majority of 2:1, overturned the decision of the Upper Tribunal. An appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal was heard by the Supreme Court on 24 March 2020. The decision of the Supreme Court, reversing the decision of the Court of Appeal, was published on 20 May 2020, after the seminar that discussed these cases. The leading speech was delivered by Lord Briggs (with whom Ladies Black and Arden and Lords Hodge and Hamblen all agreed). The First-Tier Tribunal and the Court of Appeal decided in favour of the taxpayer, and the Upper Tribunal and the Supreme Court in favour of the Revenue, with three judges supporting the taxpayer and seven supporting the Revenue. The case was clearly one that could have gone either way.

S. 424.2. Facts of the case

The facts are ver...