The companies behind the high-profile Ingenious film and video game tax schemes have not been granted permission to take their legal fight forward in the UK.
According to court documents, Ingenious Games, Inside Track Productions and Ingenious Film Partners 2 tried to reopen their refusal of permission to appeal case.
But the UK court of appeal rejected the companies’ bid so swiftly, it even refused to hear from HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) legal representatives.
A spokesperson for the UK taxman said the firms tried to use a rare procedural rule to appeal the upper tribunal ruling of 2019 a second time.
This comes after a longstanding battle between HMRC and the Ingenious companies as the taxman claims the schemes artificially created losses so its investors could claim tax relief.
The latest court ruling means that HMRC can collect the tax owed by the partners of the companies who are yet to settle their liabilities. The total sum stands at around £1.6bn ($1.9bn, €1.8bn).
HMRC had already lost to Ingenious in 2021, when the court of appeal upheld two petitions made by the company and its subsidiaries about the making of the films Die Hard 4 and Avatar.
Tax avoidance schemes ‘rarely work’
Mary Aiston, director of counter avoidance at HMRC, said: “I’m delighted the court swiftly dismissed the [companies’] attempt to yet again help their partners put off paying tax owed to the public purse.
“This long-running battle demonstrates our determination to stop such attempts to avoid tax. We’ll now recover the tax owed from the individuals who haven’t yet settled. Tax avoidance schemes are promoted as clever ways to pay less tax. In reality, they rarely work as promised and the users are left with big tax bills.
“Court action like this is one of the many steps we are taking to disrupt and drive scheme promoters out of business. We want to help ensure people do not get caught out by tax avoidance.”
International Adviser reached out to the Ingenious companies for comment but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
