Since the decision of the House of Lords in Woolwich Equitable Building Society v Inland Revenue Commissioners [1993] AC 70, the law governing claims for restitution of overpaid tax has experienced rapid and profound evolution. This has been so not only in England, but also elsewhere in the common law world as well as on the European plane. The essays in this collection consider the new landscape, and explore from various doctrinal and national perspectives the issues that have confronted, and continue to confront, the courts.
Steven Elliott is a barrister at One Essex Court.Birke Häcker is Professor of Comparative Law at the University of Oxford, Director of the Institute of European and Comparative Law, and a Professorial Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. Charles Mitchell is a Professor of Law at University College London.
SECTION I. INTRODUCTION1. Introduction Steven Elliott, Birke Häcker and Charles Mitchell SECTION II. ENGLISH LAW2. Overpaid Taxes: A Hybrid Public and Private Approach Rebecca Williams3. Mistaken Payments of Tax Duncan Sheehan4. Restitution from Public Authorities: Any Room for Duress? Nelson Enonchong5. Reasons for Restitution Charlie Webb6. Restitutionary Claims by Indirect Taxpayers Charles Mitchell 7. Property, Proportionality, and the Change of Position Defence Niamh Cleary8. Undoing Transactions for Tax Purposes: The Hastings-Bass Principle Monica BhandariSECTION III. EUROPEAN LAW9. Judicial Techniques in Relation to Remedies for Overpaid Tax Catherine Barnard and Julian Ghosh KC10. The Principle of Effectiveness and Restitution of Overpaid Tax Maximilian SchloteSECTION IV. COMPARATIVE LAW11. Absence of Basis: A German Perspective Anne Sanders12. 'Public Law Restitutionary Claims': The German Perspective Birke Häcker 13. Overpaid Taxes and Constitutional Redress in Ireland Niamh Connolly 14. Restitution of Overpaid Tax in Canada Robert Chambers15. Restitution of Unlawfully Exacted Tax in Australia: The Woolwich Principle Simone Degeling
As a collection of essays, there is no doubt that this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of this technically complex but highly significant area of the law. The editors should be commended for ensuring that the papers were published.
Emily Gordon, Charles Mitchell, Ian Williams, UK) Gordon, Emily (St John’s College, UK) Mitchell, Charles (University College London, UK) Williams, Dr Ian (University College London
Sinéad Agnew, Paul S Davies, Charles Mitchell, UK) Agnew, Dr Sinead (University of Cambridge, UK) Davies, Paul S (University College London, UK) Mitchell, Charles (University College London, Paul S. Davies