Max Schofield
@maxschofield
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Barrister specialising in Indirect Tax litigation. VAT enthusiast ranked in Legal500 and Chambers & Partners. Sharing thoughts on tax, food, and Chicago Bears.
London, England
Joined February 2009
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Pinned Tweet
As I always tell my mini-pupils: Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put them in a fruit salad; Being a tax lawyer is arguing whether Ketchup is a smoothie.
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Just over a year ago, my grandmother stepped off the kerb on a one-way road and was hit by a van reversing illegally. He ran over her in reverse, heard screams and drove forward back over her. The air ambulance and A&E consultants said she wouldn’t make it. Today is her 90th.
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I only normally get 2-3 likes from the same 2-3 people so this is quite overwhelming. Thank you everyone for your kind words; I will show them to Avril this weekend. Special thanks to
@Emilou_2121
of the paramedic crew. Here was birthday dinner in the hotel down the road from me.
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@Emilou_2121
@ross_moy
Wow, Emily! I can’t thank you enough and I can’t wait to show Avril this. Going to DM you, if that is ok?
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@CrimeGirI
Honestly, it would have killed a mere 6ft3 18 stone 30 year old like me… The injuries were unimaginable. I still don’t understand.
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Someone on
@mrjamesob
#mysteryhour
just stole one of my favourite dinner-party facts. Chicken Vindaloo comes from Portuguese marinated chicken: “Vinha d’alho” (vinho = wine, alho = garlic) and originated in Portuguese Goa in India.
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Someone (barrister and friend) just texted me saying “Lord Sumption going on GB News is such a low-brow thing to do for a man of his stature. It’s like Baroness Hale going on Naked Attraction”. And I still haven’t stopped laughing…
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Finished my pupillage interviewing responsibilities for the year. The quality is unbelievably high. One small grievance: be careful not to start every answer to a question with the patronising Americanism “So...”. It’s a minuscule advocacy-annoyance that can be rectified easily.
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Some news to share, by way of a (somewhat) prospective Father’s Day gift from
@AllyLlorente
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Court: “you must submit a skeleton argument in advance”
Barrister: *sends skeleton argument in advance*
Case settles the day before trial
Barrister: “Can I be paid for reading the papers, preparing for the trial and writing a skele as was ordered?”
Court: “No”
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My turkey for 4-6 people has just become a turkey for 1-2 very full people.
#Lockdown3
#LockdownWithAVengeance
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What do KFC takeaways have in common with Labour’s proposed VAT on private schools? Here’s a brief 🧵
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You just need richer people committing crimes is quite the take.
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This morning a mini-pupil asked me whether I came to the Bar as a second career… On a completely unrelated note, does anyone know of a good anti-ageing cream?
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I am delighted to share the news that as of Monday next week (13th Feb), I will be moving to
@devereuxlaw
Chambers, joining their wonderful team of tax barristers. Feel free to send me a message if you would like my new contact details.
#VAT
#Tax
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Sunday evening. I have worked about 22h so far this weekend. Challenging, but I get paid for it.
@AllyLlorente
has also been working all weekend and can’t bill for any of it under the current criminal fee rules (AGFS). The law is broken; Support the
@TheCriminalBar
strike.
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After two days in the tax tribunal arguing about VAT and food,
@AllyLlorente
has promised me a night off at the theat…. ffs.
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This is indicative of the basic ignorance of the issue. Many barristers leave the profession because they cannot afford to continue. You don’t see them. You only seen the ones who are able to continue due to other sources of funding. It’s a simple Bayesian cognitive bias.
Utter tosh has anyone seen a barrister living in council rundown properties or maybe she meant 1 acre of land and a mansion is hard to maintain
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@OffMenuOfficial
Prince Andrew? The dream restaurant looking remarkably like a Pizza Express?
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Some good news. Less than a week before trial, last night HMRC withdrew their opposition to a VAT appeal concerning the private tuition exemption on which I have been acting pro bono. They have agreed to a pro bono costs order under new s.194A to be paid to
@Access2JusticeF
#tax
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Papers received at 5pm, pre-paid personal trainer session at 8pm, emails to IS at 11.30pm, skeleton done by 1.30am, low blood sugar at 2.30am... need to be up at 6am for court at 10am.
These pupillage applicants need to know it’s not all dining in hall and flaunting your gown.
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Every chambers meeting ever…
The CIA's blueprint on how to destabilise an organisation.
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Before anyone points it out, I know I’m not a fun dinner party guest: I’m a tax lawyer specialising in the food and drink sector... it’s your fault for inviting me!
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@Jonathan_Rowson
@Tesco
This is awful. My 91 year old grandmother doesn’t have a smart phone to download an app. Would she be denied entry
@Tesco
?
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Extremely proud of
@AllyLlorente
and her tireless work (trust me!) trying to ensure the junior criminal bar remains a viable career path, and that justice is accessible and timeous for all. I hoped to attend but unfortunately [remote gaming] duty called. Well done
@TheCriminalBar
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Delighted to be seen as a leading junior (
@UK_Legal500
). I have to admit, I am quite overwhelmed to see my name in the company of such esteemed counsel: people I admire greatly. Well done also to
@AllyLlorente
, a star who has already risen in my humble opinion!
#Legal500
#VAT
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Sunday afternoon, reading in the sun. This is a great little guide (<200 pages), published earlier this year, with some useful references. A useful addition to the home library.
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I went into chambers on Friday and had an actual (distanced) discussion with a friend and colleague about some knotty variation/quantum meruit points in his case - and it was wonderful. I can cope with solitude and telephone calls but I miss those chambers sounding-board debates.
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Wait till she finds out what you need to do to get a criminal pupillage with £18k a year...
#thelawisbroken
£23k a year job and they expect a personalised cover letter and CV. Get to fuck.
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I don’t tweet about politics, so this is an entirely spontaneous and independent bottle of champagne that is about to be consumed.
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@mikercameron
No VAT on tickets to the opera, the highest quality caviar, buying a second home, or playing the lottery. But there is VAT on a bottle of water, toilet roll, underpants, spectacles and lenses, and a plumber fixing your heating. It’s not much of a general rule, is it?
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Good news this morning:
@AllyLlorente
has been made a Grade 3 prosecutor. Only 2016 call but the hardest working little worker bee ever, buzzing from court-to-court. She is very impressive.
#crime
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Heading to court with my full garb for the first time in over a year and a half, before I knew the word coronavirus. Preparing to be slowly asphyxiated mid-submissions by a protruding collar stud with an unexpectedly tight wing collar.
#fancydress
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@EmmaKennedy
To be fair - if we must - I would probably look much worse if I had two young babies and was running the country during a global pandemic 😂
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Received some good news in relation to a Remote Gaming Duty case on which I was instructed, with the client succeeding without having to escalate to the Tribunal. I am, therefore, going to celebrate by sampling a “Fat Rascal” at Betty’s. I understand it is a cake for tax purposes
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I would have gone with "lazy bastard who doesn't know his a*se from his elbow", but this is much better. Thank you to my referees and to the Chambers researchers, and well done all.
#VAT
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@Paulalondonnews
@parthaskar
@GillianKeegan
As someone who was diabetic in school without CGMs and now benefits from CGMs, you’re talking errant nonsense. The change in life quality and general health is incomparable with wearable medical technology, which is a new phenomenon.
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Today marks six months without smoking; not even one cigarette. I don’t feel any different but apparently my insides should.
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If you get the chance (and have negative LFT), I recommend seeing “2:22 A Ghost Story” at the Geilgud Theatre.
@James_Buckley
(Jay from the Inbetweeners) puts in a magnificent performance, as does
@iamstephbeatz
(aka Rosa Diaz). Great fun.
#ShhDontTell
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Off to see an open-air performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Kew Gardens this evening. Rather hoping the rain desists or there is a risk of a wet Bottom. (Sorry!)
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I cannot wait for 8pm tonight. An opportunity to go to a deserted weights room in an empty gym, then do the weekly food shop in peace. Football is coming home; Max is going out.
#bloodylovefootball
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To those people with the misconception that tax is boring... Here is a Tribunal case about the correct customs duty classification of locking display cabinets for public notices and hand sanitiser bottle stands.
#CustomsDuty
#Tax
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Packing for my first proper holiday in a while. It will be nice to get away from work and have a break from VAT…
Oh, and here is the holiday reading
@SteveDalytax
kindly sent me. 😂
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Another round of cetacean slaughter imminent on the Faroe Islands per
@seashepherd
. Will His Majesty’s former Ambassador to Denmark, Emma Hopkins, do something useful and speak up now (noting the UK’s pledged increased commitment to whale protection)?
@EHopkinsFCDO
#Grind
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“When I was at the Bar I’m bound to say that I found some judges extraordinarily wooden-headed. I had to say the same thing over and over again to them. And, now I’m on the bench, I can’t understand why counsel are always repeating themselves”. From Henry Cecil’s Sober as a Judge
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I, for one, refuse to advise cowboys on their tax affairs.
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Congrats to
@AllyLlorente
for being ranked as a Rising Star for Crime in the 2024 Legal500 UK Bar directory, and for getting a NG verdict this morning after a 9-month trial.
(I will have to acknowledge this quote next time we argue about whose turn it is to do the dishwasher.)
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Boxing Day wine and reading. For fans of Portuguese wine / palaces and principles of statutory interpretation.
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@MarinaHyde
“Naturally, there will be those who wonder at Brooklyn’s inability to have what other mortals might regard as amateur hobbies without considering them nascent professional empires.” Your writing is just *chef’s kiss*
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Went for a brisk walk after a day of pupillage interviews on Zoom. Ended up walking and clapping (which would no doubt look completely unhinged in any other circumstances), then I swallowed a fly. That will teach me for exercising.
#ClapForTheNHS
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@FaiselSadiq
@SBarrettBar
Struggle to see what he could possibly mean. For any of your non-law followers, see Bennion on Statutory Interpretation, and Erskine May, below.
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I have no idea why
@johnprescott
didn’t want his decanter from the Glasgow Wide Taxi Owners Association. But, if anyone fancies a glass of New Labour, two Jags, sherry - it’s on my desk.
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I am fairly certain that I am not the only lawyer on Twitter who is currently putting the kettle on and waiting for
@GeorgePeretzQC
to do a thread on this…
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The animator/illustrator of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and Doug, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch) is an old family friend. His birthday cards are the best.
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My first case for HMRC’s VAT team, concerning in essence whether broadcasted screenings of theatre shows to cinemas amounted to “admission to a theatrical performance” for the VAT exemption in Sch.9. An interesting case with reference to News Corp.
#VAT
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Delighted to be working on this case; likely one of the last Francovich claims post-Brexit. It’s a pleasure to be instructed by the team at KPMG and led by Valentina Sloane QC.
#tax
#foodandbeverage
#EU
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Hard to overstate how impressive a feat of tax simplification this is. One of the most convoluted federal indirect tax jurisdictions (= compliance costs for taxpayers and administration costs for tax authority) has consolidated and rationalised, owing largely to Prof Rita’s work.
Today is an historic day for tax nerds worldwide. The Brazilian Tax Reform, which abolishes five consumption taxes, and substitutes it with one VAT was approved last night.
Congratulations to all (non-tax nerd) Brazilians, who are the true winners. My full message in Portuguese:
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For the 9 to 5.
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@JudithFreedman
Of all the advocates there, his strength is his ability to listen. His cross-examination is a masterclass in reacting and piggybacking on ambiguities and inconsistencies. It is all the more effective owing to his being on top of all the documents. He deserves a knighthood.
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FINALLY I get the automated scam HMRC call, after months - nay, years - of anticipation. I pressed 1 to speak to an agent and gave her my name... Then she has the audacity, the effrontery, to hang up on me. Not even a discussion on Schedule 24 of the Finance Act 2007.
#scam
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Ignore all that Scottish Independence Referendum Bill stuff; watch the second day of News Corp UK v HMRC on whether the digital version of The Times is a “newspaper” for VAT purposes (and the “always speaking” doctrine).
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Happy Birthday to VAT royalty and one of the most important people in my life,
@delaFeriaR
. Here is a short story about how our paths crossed fortuitously…
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Woke up early to do some work; Dad convinced me to take a break and get a coffee and cake from his local bakery. Which would you choose?
#bolos
#cakesofportugal
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A night off (with
@AllyLlorente
) to see Miles Jupp and Justin Edwards in a new adaptation of the Ealing classic: The Lavender Hill Mob.
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@seanjonesqc
Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his partner in a full-length fur coat once asked me whether the Sainsbury’s in Chipping Norton had any star anise.
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I have seen discussions on social media regarding time of supply for VAT (concerning payments to private schools prior to yesterday's anti-forestalling measures). Tax advisors may also note there has been a recent FTT decision discussing similar issues in relation to Lycamobile.
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Apparently it was on this exact day six years ago that I was at Cornell in upstate NY taking a day off Trial Advocacy with a long walk when I came across this waterfall in the shape of a heart, framed by the perspective and the foliage. Seems like a lifetime ago now.
#tempusfugit
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Wow, that really is a very kind thing to say. I am not sure it is accurate, but it is certainly kind. Delighted to be promoted from “Up and Coming” to “Band 3 Junior” for VAT in
@ChambersGuides
this year. Thank you to my referees and those instructing me on such interesting cases
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Finally the war on drugs is over...
This morning we seized 2 cannabis plants from an address in Alsager after neighbours reported a strong smell of cannabis. If you notice anything suspicious anywhere around the town please let us know via 101 or 999 in an emergency
#alsagerpolice
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The new issue of the British Tax Review is out. I highly recommend
@delaFeriaR
's article on the impact of digitalisation on personal income taxes. Also, if you have a chance, take a look at my case note on Deluxe Property v SCL: VAT repayment on trust.
#VAT
#Trusts
#Tax
#BTR
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I also have a bad VAT joke but it is rated zero
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@EGoldLdn
Well done for doing it pro bono Elliot. Regardless of the various controversies and quarrelling, it is a decent thing to do and in the best traditions of the bar.
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Discussions on LinkedIn about food-based advent calendars and whether they are a supply of food or calendars for VAT is exactly the distraction I need at 5pm on a Wednesday…
#VAT
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An early birthday present - to myself - after a long week. (A niche post for those in the Venn intersection of lawyers and variant sudoku fans, or just
@James_M_Lloyd
) h/t
@crypticcracking
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