Dominic Lawrance and Catrin Harrison write for Tax Journal on the implications of the Court of Appeal judgment in the case of ‘A Taxpayer v HMRC’
min readA Taxpayer v HMRC [2025] EWCA Civ 106 is the latest chapter in the litigation between an anonymous taxpayer and HMRC, concerning the issue of whether she was non-UK resident in a particular tax year by virtue of the statutory residence test (SRT) provisions dealing with exceptional circumstances.
The Court of Appeal has restored sanity regarding the scope of these provisions, overturning the austere and unnatural interpretation of the statutory language which had been adopted by the Upper Tribunal.
The Court of Appeal’s judgment is valuable not only from this perspective but also regarding a much wider point, namely the limited scope for appellate bodies to challenge first-instance findings of fact. As the judgment makes clear, the scope of this principle is broader than might be assumed.
Dominic Lawrance, Partner, and Catrin Harrison, Senior Associate, write for Tax Journal and consider the implications of the Court of Appeal judgment.
Read the full piece in Tax Journal here.
