Emmanuel Gresh was hit with a 40% tax bill when the pension advice he received instructed him that he could withdraw money from his RBC Guernsey pension fund tax-free, provided the funds were not remitted to the UK.
The advice turned out to be wildly mistaken.
Gresh had hoped to have the decision reversed by using the Hastings-Bass principle – whereby trustees who made an administrative mistake with bad consequences (usually tax-related) can request the High Court rectify the error if it is considered unjust.
However, the Guernsey Royal Court last month decided against reversing the blunder, adding that it did not consider Gresh’s decision to be “unconscionably” unfair as he was the only person affected by the act and the resulting tax bill.
