Reed folds on tax disputes

EMPLOYMENT agency Reed has thrown in the towel on two tax disputes worth £420million.

The company has been fighting Revenue & Customs since 2007 over whether it owed tax on sums paid to temporary staff for their travel and lunch bills.

Twelve companies within the Reed group were named in the action, which reached the Court of Appeal at one stage. Accounts for the 12 show payments totalling £120 million to settle the tax bills.

Reed Employment Limited, one firm in the group, had also hoped to recover more than £300million in what it said was overpaid VAT as part of a separate action.

In its annual report Reed stated: ‘The cessation of litigation between the group and HMRC supports the directors’ wishes to maintain a lowrisk approach to taxation.’