The taxpayer’s claims for self-employment expenses were overstated, HMRC’s discovery assessments were upheld, and the behaviour of the taxpayer and his agents was careless as the relevant tax returns were submitted without being checked or signed.
The appellant, a self-employed civil engineer subcontractor, appointed a firm of accountants (‘K’) to act on his behalf. K filed three versions of the appellant’s self-assessment return for the tax year 2015/16. The first return submitted on 9 May 2016 (wrongly) claimed an exemption from Class 4 National Insurance contributions, which was then removed by a second version. The third return, submitted on 11 July 2017, increased the claim for business expenditure by £10,000 to £30,015, resulting in a claim for a repayment of £
