Julian Hickey explains how tax specialists can avoid that most painful and worrisome aspect of their profession – claims against them for negligence
The law of negligence is an area of law that needs to be considered on an active basis by any professional tax adviser. An understanding of the law of negligence will hopefully assist the adviser in never being the subject of a claim for loss arising from their advice (or if a claim is made, then the adviser is in a position to defend against the allegations).
Unfortunately, for some practitioners there will be errors in the advice (whether through innocent or negligent error) provided to a client, and on the basis of that advice the client incurs an economic loss (e.g. a tax liability, interest and penalties). In these circumstances there will be an allegation that the advice was negligent and that the adviser is liable for the loss.
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