Michael Fury v The Commissioners for HMRC

Facts

Mr Fury, a Romany Gypsy with no schooling after the age of seven who cannot read or write, breeds and sells horses in a cash trade and also works as a haulage driver. In or around 2015, an Irish Gypsy called Shaun asked him to open an account with European Metal Recycling Ltd (EMR). Mr Fury took Shaun's scrap to EMR, cashed the cheques, kept roughly 13% as commission and handed the balance and paperwork to Shaun, under an oral agreement. EMR later confirmed 181 cheques totalling £200,175 across three tax years. HMRC opened an enquiry into the 2017/18 self-assessment return in September 2019 and uncovered the EMR payments, eight bank accounts and undeclared bank interest, much of it disclosed to HMRC piecemeal. On 25 March 2022 HMRC issued discovery assessments under section 29 of the Taxes Management Act 1970 for 2015/16 and 2016/17, reduced on review to £19,787.57 and £31,642.46. On 22 September 2022 it issued deliberate-behaviour penalties under Schedule 24 to the Finance Act 2007 of £11,081.03 and £17,719.77, after a 40% reduction for telling, helping and giving. Mr Fury appealed to the First-tier Tribunal, contending that he was only a haulier and that the scrap money belonged to others. He also applied to debar HMRC from taking further part.