A prominent barrister, known for positioning himself as an "adversary of HMRC", stands accused of dodging nearly £2 million in tax.
Robert Venables KC, one of the UK's leading tax lawyers, allegedly falsified his earnings declarations over a seven-year period, a court has been told. He faces three charges of tax evasion.
Venables set up an “elaborate” system for his income as a barrister, Southwark Crown Court heard, and is accused of deliberately failing to declare some of the money he was benefiting from.
Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC said Venables “paid almost £2 million less tax than he should have done”.
He told the jury: “There is no doubt in this case that Mr Venables did pay less tax than he should have done.
“The issue for you to determine will be whether that may have been an honest mistake, or whether he did so – as the prosecution allege – dishonestly.”
Venables became a barrister when he was called to the Bar in 1973, and he became a Queen’s Counsel (QC), now King’s Counsel (KC), in 1990.
Mr Christopher said Venables’ professional reputation was built on his work representing taxpayers who were challenging HMRC over disputed tax bills.
“In practice this was the nature of his court work – putting forward arguments as to why HMRC’s analysis of the factual circumstances, or the law, or both, is wrong – unless, no doubt, his advice was that actually HMRC was right, and that the taxpayer should be paying what HMRC were demanding.
“It appears that Mr Venables saw himself as something of an adversary of HMRC.
“For example, he told those attending a tax seminar that as soon as HMRC see that he is involved for the taxpayer in a case, HMRC say: ‘I think we’ll back off this one, we’ll put this one onto the too difficult for the moment pile.’”
The case against Venables is centred on his annual self-assessments to HMRC between 2014 and 2021, when it is said he “falsely declared the amount of his income for taxation purposes”.
The court heard the KC channelled his earnings through a body called the RVQC Partnership, where he was the sole earner but the profits were distributed to partners including himself, allegedly to lower his tax liability.
Mr Christopher told jurors the trial is looking at illegal tax evasion, not taking advantage of accidental loopholes in the law which is legal and known as “tax avoidance”.
“We are not concerned in any way about approval or disapproval of rich people finding ingenious ways to save tax,” he said.
“Different people may have different views about that, but those views are not what this case is about, and play no part in what has to be decided.
“We are concerned in this case with the difference between taking advantage of the law as it stands to find a way of paying less tax – and dishonestly pretending that you are liable to pay less tax than in fact you know you should be paying.
“Dishonestly paying less than you know you should be paying is not just tax avoidance – it is tax evasion
“It is cheating HMRC of tax which you know you should be paying.”
Venables denies three charges of cheating the public revenue. The trial continues.
