Cheating the Public Revenue: Fictions and Human Rights

Extract

The decisions of the House of Lords in R. v. Allen [2001] UKHL 45, [2001] 3 W.L.R. 843 and R. v. Dimsey [2001] UKHL 46, [2001] 3 W.L.R. 843 concerned appeals against convictions for cheating and conspiring to cheat the public revenue. The appeals were heard together before the Court of Appeal (noted (2000) 59 C.L.J. 42) and before the House of Lords, although separate decisions were handed down in the latter court. Both cases arose from the evasion of tax through the use of overseas companies. Allen had evaded his own tax liability by, inter alia, making false declarations of his income and Dimsey, a financial services adviser, had administered overseas companies for various clients, including Allen, to evade their tax liability. The grounds of appeal fell under two main headings. A third ground, relating to Allen alone, was that benefits in kind received by him from overseas companies of which he was a shadow director were not taxable. It was held that he was liable to pay tax on such benefits, even though the link between those benefits and the services he provided as a shadow director might be tenuous.