Shilton v Wilmshurst (Inspector of Taxes)

The dispute concerned whether a lump sum payment made by a football club to induce its employee to join a new club fell to be treated as an emolument from the employment with the new club for the purposes of Schedule E and the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970, in particular ss 181 and 183(1). The legal question was whether such a payment could be characterised as income from the new employment.

The judgment text before the court file identifies the statutory provisions in issue but does not set out the court's dispositive reasoning or the operative conclusion. Not stated in the judgment.

Background and parties: This is an appeal to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords concerning income tax treatment of a payment connected with a professional footballer's change of clubs. The parties are the taxpayer (the footballer, Shilton) and the respondent inspector of taxes (Wilmshurst).

Nature of the claim: The appeal raised whether a lump sum paid by a football club to induce its employee to join a new club constituted an emolument from the employment with the new club and therefore taxable under Schedule E and the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 (see ss 181 and 183(1)).

Procedural posture: The matter reached the House of Lords on appeal. Prior stages of the litigation are not described in the judgment text provided.

Issues framed by the court:

• Whether the inducement payment was an emolument arising from the new employment for Schedule E purposes.
• The correct construction and application of ss 181 and 183(1) of the Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970 to payments of this character.

Court's reasoning and result: The document available identifies the key statutory provisions and frames the legal issue but does not set out the court's detailed reasoning or state the final determination reached on the appeal. Not stated in the judgment.

Not stated in the judgment.

Appeal to the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. Prior procedural history and lower court decisions are not described in the judgment text provided. Reported citations for the House of Lords decision include [1991] 1 AC 684, [1991] 3 All ER 148, [1991] 2 WLR 530, [1991] STC 88, 64 TC 78.