My book on VAT and property, published on Friday 13 February, was, like all legal commentaries, out-of-date before it even saw the light of day. Writing the book was like running after a bus that was always pulling away just as you arrived at the stop. A series of tax groundhog moments, if you like.
Remember all that fuss in 2009 about MPs ‘flipping’ their second homes to avoid capital gains tax? (Such was the interest generated by this phenomenon that there’s even an entry about it in Wikipedia now).
Frank, a fellow tax lawyer, has a friend whose son has just started as a trainee solicitor in a high street firm which does a lot of property work. In his first week, the trainee was asked to research a tax point by the senior partner.