Advisers offering unsolicited tax advice can assume a duty of care. Stephen Smith reviews the Mehjoo decision regarding the limits of implied duties
Professional advisers will welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision in Hossein Mehjoo v Harben Barker and Harben Barker Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 358. It was held that a firm of accountants did not owe a duty of care to a client to flag specialist non-dom tax points.
For many years Mr Mehjoo’s accountants (HB) had prepared his tax returns and were engaged on terms that they would if requested provide general tax advice. On several occasions HB had offered unsolicited advice regarding the tax consequences of proposed transactions.
Mr Mehjoo planned to dispose...
