HMRC car tax expert, David Goodall, joins The Miles Consultancy
David Goodall, who was the technical specialist for car benefits at HMRC until last year, has joined fuel and mileage audit company TMC.
He takes the role of Head of Tax and Policy Advice. TMC captures and audits fuel and mileage reports for over 100,000 UK business drivers.
As technical specialist, Mr Goodall was responsible for defining HMRC’s official view on the way the law on company car and fuel benefits is applied. Goodall wrote the technical guidance on car benefits in the Employment Income Manual; and wrote additional internet material for fleet users. He was also responsible for the HMRC car and car fuel benefit internet calculator.
Mr Goodall also helped to shape the definition of car benefit when he represented HMRC in court cases. An example includes a driver who claimed that he was only liable to tax on 20 per cent of the cost of his second-hand Ferrari because he owned an interest in it (Christensen v Vasili 2004). The Revenue successfully won the case.
“This is a very significant move for TMC,” said Paul Jackson, Managing Director of TMC. “There is increasing pressure on businesses to comply with the letter of car and fuel benefit law and no-one knows the rules better than David. His knowledge is an invaluable asset to our customers and to TMC itself.”
Mr Goodall said: “I’m very pleased to be joining TMC at this time. Businesses need to be aware that HMRC is now very focused on the way they record and check mileage claims. They can expect to be challenged over any errors or omissions in their records that might have led, even inadvertently, to underpayments of tax on cars or fuel.”
Mr Goodall has an MSc in chemical engineering from Imperial College London. He worked as a safety engineer at Ford Motors and in the voluntary and insurance sectors before joining the Inland Revenue as a tax inspector in 1990.
About TMC
TMC provides online, automated systems that enable company car and grey fleet drivers to accurately record their business and private mileage. TMC’s solutions reduce administration costs, support compliance with Occupational* Road Risk requirements and are recognised by HMRC.