The futile three-year pursuit by HM Revenue & Customs of family business Artic Systems has cost the taxpayer more than half a million pounds, according to estimates.
While the taxman claims it does not know how much the case has cost, the Professional Contractors Group has estimated the figure to be in excess of £500,000, for a tax bill that was just £7,000.
As well as its own legal fees, costs were also awarded against HMRC at a hearing earlier this year.
John Brazier, MD of PCG, which supported Arctic couple Geoff and Diana Jones throughout the case, said: ‘It beggars belief that this amount of money could have been spent in pursuit of a £7,000 tax bill. We already know the human cost in terms of the years of stress for Geoff and Diana Jones, and we now know the true financial cost to the British taxpayer.’
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