Tax: Indirect Tax

Gray's Inn Tax Chambers is a well-established specialist tax set known for acting in a range of leading indirect tax cases. Members have deep experience of handling complex VAT, MTIC, SDLT, insurance premium tax, and input and exit tax cases. They appear in cases throughout the domestic court system, and regularly take judicial reviews to the CJEU and other international courts, representing both the taxpayer and the Revenue. Recent matters include representing Berkeley group in Farleigh v St George South London, a test case for the whole property industry in relation to the structuring of service charges and the use of managing agents. Members also appeared in the matter of Towerbridge, which concerned input tax on carbon credits supplied in the course of an MTIC fraud where the taxpayer had no knowledge or means of knowledge of the fraud.

Ben Stern is senior clerk.

Nicola Shaw devotes a significant portion of her broad tax practice to indirect tax instructions, regularly representing taxpayers and HMRC in contentious matters, particularly in the area of VAT. She acts for clients at every level of court, including before the CJEU. "Nicola is the go-to silk for complicated technical VAT disputes." "Nicola is very logical and highly commercial."

Laura Inglis is a former tax associate at Slaughter & May, who appears regularly in the High Court, as well as in the First-tier and Upper Tribunals. Her recent work has included a case concerning three private colleges owned by the GUS Group, who were seeking to benefit from the VAT exemption for education. "Very clever and hugely hard-working." "Laura presents extremely well and brings clarity to complex tax issues."

Michael Jones KC receives strong praise from peers for his handling of indirect tax matters. He represents both the Revenue and the taxpayer in noteworthy cases involving VAT and stamp duty. "Michael is very clear in his thinking and someone who can unravel the most complex problems." "Michael was very well prepared and completely across the detail of the case. He was also excellent at finding new angles of attack."

Michael Firth KC is particularly adept at assisting clients in cases pertaining to VAT and SDLT. "Michael is someone to be deeply respected as an opponent as he is able to turn the ghost of an argument into a really solid case." "Michael has a great client manner and is courageous in his advocacy." "He is able to explain very complex tax matters with ease."