Stobart tycoon in tax dodge row
Ex-boss slapped down over £2.5m wheeze
STOBART Group’s former boss is locked in a legal battle with HM Revenue and Customs after he tried to slash his tax bill.
Andrew Tinkler, who ran Southend Airport’s owner until last year and is embroiled in a power struggle at the firm, claimed a loss of £2.5m in his tax return for 2003-04.
Writing off such a large amount is likely to have significantly reduced his tax bill by cutting the overall amount that HMRC could get its hands on.
But the ruse was overruled by the taxman – triggering a prolonged battle in the courts. Tinkler, who earned £5m last year before leaving Stobart and lives in a £3m house in Cumbria, is appealing the decision.
The case has come to light as Tinkler bids to oust Iain Ferguson, the chairman of Stobart, which also owns Carlisle Lake District Airport and Stobart Air.
Tinkler, 54, stepped down last year but has since been sacked as a director, resulting in one of the biggest boardroom bust-ups of recent years.
It will come to a head on Friday at the annual meeting in Guernsey.
But Tinkler also faces a battle with the taxman. According to court papers, HMRC decided to amend his income tax return for 2003-2004 after looking into capital gains and a share scheme at his company WA Developments. It had also been asking questions about a Ukrainian property transaction.
Court documents said HMRC decided Tinkler was not entitled to the income tax loss of £2.5m he had claimed in the tax return, and, on August 30, 2012, issued ‘a closure notice that amended the return to reduce the loss claimed to nil’.
Tinkler appealed the decision in the First-Tier Tribunal, Tax Chamber, in the Royal Courts of Justice, London, with the case heard in December 2015. He claimed HMRC had never validly opened an inquiry into his affairs because it had failed to give notice of doing so within the allowed time. But a
judge threw out his claim. A second appeal has also failed but Tinkler continues to pursue his case in the courts.
Tinkler helped Stobart grow into a firm worth nearly £800m in his ten years as chief executive. He was sacked from the board last month amid accusations he was subverting the company for
his own interests and had tried to cash in £30m worth of shares.
But Tinkler is campaigning to replace Ferguson, 63, with retail billionaire Philip Day, 52. He also wants to get back on the board.
Yesterday the Stobart board said Tinkler’s return would not be in the best interests of the company, and urged shareholders
to vote against it. Tinker hit back saying shareholders should be able to choose.
With the row escalating, emails surfaced last month showing Tinkler complaining about his previous pay and suggesting he might have been better off ‘with a pair of t***’ like his former boss Avril Palmer-Baunack.