Tax Journal VAT Review for October 2019

This article was first published in the 04 October 2019 edition of Tax Journal who have agreed to Simmons & Simmons making it available online.

This month’s update covers a number of recent tribunal decisions, of which perhaps the most interesting is the Pertemps case. The idea that an employer was providing a service to an employee by offering an alternative remuneration structure may, at first glance seem a little outlandish, but care is needed in distinguishing this situation from that considered by the CJEU in Astra Zeneca. At a European level, the AG’s opinion in joined Hungarian cases may re-open the question whether compound interest should be a necessary part of the compensation due to a taxpayer in relation to VAT levied in breach of EU law, whilst a number of member states are cooperating in a trial of cross-border VAT rulings for complex cases.