Bad news for Ladbrokes Coral
News on 23 Mar 2018
News on 23 Mar 2018
Just days after hearing that its acquisition by GVC Holdings plc had been green lighted by the UK Competition and Marketing Authority this week, Ladbrokes Coral received the bad news that its appeal in a GBP 71 million tax avoidance case in 2008 has been rejected.
The UK Court of Appeal rejected the Ladbrokes submission following February’s Tribunal Court ruling which supported the HM Revenue and Customs case against the gambling group.
The failure of the appeal probably brings to a close decade-long litigation between HMRC and Ladbrokes over an accusation that the gambling group, advised by accounting and audit specialists Deloitte, exploited a tax loophole which enabled it to avoid paying higher corporate tax (see previous reports).
The “transacting subsidiaries” loophole was subsequently closed legislatively by the UK government
Whilst acknowledging that it did try to limit its tax liability, the gambling group maintained that its arrangements did not fall within the remit of HMRC’s rules against tax avoidance at the time.
The bookmaker eventually paid the amount of GBP 71 million in taxes but later started litigating to recover the amount.
The tax Tribunal Court finding came down on the HMRC side, observing that Ladbrokes had been well aware that it had exploited a tax loophole to lower its tax obligation.
