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ARTICLE · 31 JANUARY 2013

Tax Advice Given By Accountants Not Protected By Privilege

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Legal advice privilege applies only to lawyers and does not extend to tax advice provided by accountants,as the United Kingdom Supreme Court confirmed in its first judgment of 2013.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Scott Bower
Scott Bower
Joan Bilsland
Joan Bilsland
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Legal advice privilege applies only to lawyers and does not extend to tax advice provided by accountants, the United Kingdom Supreme Court (formerly the House of Lords) confirmed in its first judgment of 2013: R (on the application of Prudential plc and another) v Special Commissioner of Income Tax, [2013] UKSC 1 (Prudential).

Legal advice privilege, also known as solicitor-client privilege, protects documents and other forms of communication from having to be disclosed. By successfully invoking legal advice privilege, a person is entitled to resist the disclosure of information or the production of documents that would otherwise have to be disclosed to others, for example to the other side in legal proceedings.

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