F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone is "fighting a tax bill" of more than £1B ($1.57B), after U.K. tax authority HMRC reopened a "long-running dispute over a family trust," according to Vanessa Houlder of the FINANCIAL TIMES. The high court heard on Thursday that Ecclestone had filed "three separate lawsuits in an attempt to block a bill" that was issued after HMRC "tore up a deal" agreed upon in '08. Judge Kenneth Parker said that Ecclestone's request for judicial review "should be put on hold until another challenge over the HMRC's decision to scrap the agreement was heard in the commercial court." The '08 agreement was reached after HMRC "spent nine years investigating the tax affairs" of Ecclestone and his family. In December, HMRC told Ecclestone that it had rescinded the settlement agreement, arguing that it had been "misled and relied on representations that were false" (FT, 5/21). The PA reported Ecclestone is "seeking to have the assessments quashed" and the tax authorities held to an '08 settlement. Ecclestone's lawyers on Thursday applied for "permission to seek judicial
review," arguing HMRC "should not have attempted
to make the assessments in the light of the settlement." A High Court judge ruled one of the tycoon's grounds for review
"arguable" but said that his application "should be stayed while his lawyers
pursue alternative proceedings in the Commercial Court." Parker said that the tax and interest being demanded from Ecclestone was more than £1B (PA, 5/21). In London, Kevin Eason reported Ecclestone has been "fighting in the courts for the past three years" since authorities
in Germany and Britain started investigating the £1B sale of F1 to
CVC Capital Partners, the private-equity group, in '06. Most of the inquiries have centered on Ecclestone's "relationship with Bambino, a trust in
Liechtenstein" thought to be worth as much as £3B ($4.7B). Tom Weisselberg, acting for HMRC, said, "From HMRC's perspective, the settlement is void." Ecclestone's spokesperson, Richard Oldworth, said
that he "merely wants HMRC to act in accordance with its obligations and the
law," and is pursuing "other legal avenues" to ensure the agency is held to
the '08 settlement (LONDON TIMES, 5/21). BLOOMBERG's Kit Chellel reported while Ecclestone has previously said he was being questioned by HMRC, the "extent of his liability" was not clear until Thursday. Ecclestone said, "I've
never, ever, ever had anything to do with the trust" (BLOOMBERG, 5/21).
