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HMRC wins Goldman Sachs court case | HMRC wins Goldman Sachs court case |
(34 minutes later) | |
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has won its case in the High Court, where it had been accused of illegally letting investment bank Goldman Sachs off part of its tax bill. | |
The campaign group UK Uncut Legal Action had claimed that the taxpayer had been cheated of up to £20m. | |
It said HMRC had let Goldman Sachs off the hook through a "sweetheart deal". | |
The judge ruled the deal was "not a glorious episode in the history of the Revenue", but said it was not unlawful. | |
HMRC said it had changed its practices since it made the agreement with Goldman Sachs in 2010. | |
It also said that the maximum that had been lost to taxpayers was £8m. | |
"Large business tax settlements are a vital part of how HMRC secures tax revenues for the country," HMRC said in a statement afterwards. | |
"And without them, Britain's public finances would be seriously damaged." | |
"Reasonable" deal | |
But the group behind the legal action said it was important that the country knew more about so-called "bespoke settlements", where the tax authorities make private deals with big companies. | |
"We are disappointed we've lost the case," said Anna Walker of UK Uncut Legal Action. | |
"But it has exposed the truth behind these backroom deals," she told the BBC. | |
"The government talks tough on tax, but does not do much," she added. | |
The deal between Goldman Sachs and HMRC, in which the bank was excused interest payments on National Insurance contributions, was declared "reasonable" in a report by the National Audit Office. |