Overview
Louis accepts instructions in all contentious and non-contentious areas of Chambers’ practice, including personal tax, corporate tax, VAT, stamp taxes, international tax, trusts issues and judicial review.
Louis is regularly instructed across all areas of revenue law, as well as in other matters with a substantive tax element. He has been instructed in cases before the First-tier Tribunal, Upper Tribunal, the County Court, the High Court, and the Court of Appeal.
Prior to joining chambers, Louis taught taxation law and supported various research projects at the University of Oxford and King’s College London. He is a regular contributor to professional and academic journals.
Louis is qualified to accept instructions under the Public Access scheme.
A copy of Louis’ privacy policy can be found here.
Corporate tax
Some of Louis’ recent work in this area includes:
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal and High Court concerning enterprise zone allowances under the Capital Allowances Act 2001.
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning the deductibility of contributions to a remuneration trust (including issues surrounding UK GAAP, “wholly and exclusively”, as well as contentious procedural issues including the amendment of pleadings, abuse of process, and procedural unfairness).
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning transfer pricing.
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning the availability of deductions for contributions to pension schemes.
- Louis’s recent advisory work includes advice on incorporation relief under section 162 TCGA 1992 and the treatment of close companies.
- Successful representation of a company carrying on a property investment business in respect of a contested claim for the deduction of acquisition costs under section 38 TCGA 1992.
Personal tax
Some of Louis’ recent work in this area includes:
- Afzal Alimahomed [2025] UKUT 428 (TCC) — The Upper Tribunal considered what constitutes a remittance of income to the United Kingdom within section 809L ITA 2007 in the context of bank transfers and credit card transactions. The case’s discussion of the meaning of the word “money” is also of general interest in the interpretation of tax and other statutes. Louis appeared for HMRC led by Richard Vallat KC.
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning personal tax issues related to pensions, rescission, rectification, and the jurisdiction of the First-tier Tribunal.
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning the availability of income tax sideways loss relief for clients carrying on farming activities.
- Ongoing litigation before the Upper Tribunal concerning a range of capital gains tax issues, including the situs of assets at the time of disposal, the meaning of “register” and “registered” in section 275(1)(e) TCGA 1992, and penalties.
- Louis’s recent advisory work on inheritance tax is includes advice to clients on the availability of the residence nil-rate band under sections 8D–8M IHTA 1984, the treatment of trusts for the benefit of disabled persons under section 89 IHTA 1984, the treatment of employee benefit trusts under section 86 IHTA 1984, and the reservation of benefit anti-avoidance rules under section 102 of the Finance Act 1986.
- Louis’s recent advisory work on income tax is particularly extensive and includes advice on the settlements code in Part 5, Chapter 5 of ITTOIA 2005, the transfer of assets abroad code in Part 13, Chapter 2 of ITA 2007, and the treatment of non-resident landlords.
- Louis has also advised on a range of substantive private law issues including those related to the interpretation and validity of contracts and trusts. He has also lectured on the topic of substantive and procedural tax issues of particular concern to high-profile individuals or those with reputation concerns.
- Louis has represented clients in interim applications before the County Court and the High Court in respect of pre-action disclosure, interim injunctions, and costs.
VAT / IPT & other indirect taxes
Some of Louis’ recent work in this area includes:
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning personal liability notices and the validity of underlying VAT assessments.
- Ongoing litigation before the First-tier Tribunal concerning whether taxable supplies were made for consideration and the deductibility of input tax in relation to management services in the context of cryptocurrency mining.
- Louis’s recent advisory work on VAT and indirect taxes includes advice on the jurisdiction of the First-tier Tribunal to consider public law arguments, best judgment, and the availability of restitutionary remedies.
Stamp taxes
Some of Louis’ recent work in this area includes:
- Louis’s recent advisory work on stamp duty land tax (SDLT) includes multiple pieces of advice on the effect of planning permission, physical characteristics, and historical use on the classification of converted houses and farmland as “residential” or “non-residential or mixed use” property for the purposes of sections 55 and 116 of the Finance Act 2003.
- Other recent advisory work on SDLT includes analyses of higher rate transactions (including the acquisition of additional dwellings) within Schedule 4ZA, the anti-avoidance rule in section 75A, and the linked transaction rules, as well as advice on how to structure a family’s joint acquisition of adjoining properties.
Public Law
Some of Louis’ recent work in this area includes:
- Ongoing litigation before the High Court considering substantive legitimate expectations based on an alleged HMRC practice in relation to capital allowance claims.
- Louis’s recent advisory work includes extensive advice on the role of public law arguments before the First-tier Tribunal in various contexts within direct and indirect tax, as well as in enforcement proceedings before the County Court.
Education & prizes
King’s College London, Politics, Philosophy & Law LLB (Hons) (First Class, 1st of 154)
University of Oxford, Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction, 1st of 123)
City University of London, Bar Vocational Studies PgDip (Distinction)
Prizes
- Vinerian Scholarship for best performance on the Bachelor of Civil Law.
- Eldon Scholarship, University of Oxford.
- Postgraduate subject prizes for Advanced Administrative Law, Business Taxation, Taxation of Trusts.
- Jelf Medal, King’s College London for most distinguished undergraduate performance.
- Undergraduate subject prizes for Contract, Property, and Political Philosophy.
- Dickson Poon Scholar, King’s College London.
- City Law School Scholarship.
- Lord Denning Scholarship, Lincoln’s Inn.
Winner of national ESU-Essex Court National Mooting Competition & Magna Carta Moot
