Now that the lawyers and the pundits – and, in one instance, a litigant – have left the columns, are there any comments which a simple ‘bean counter’ might have to make regarding last month’s decisions in both the House of Lords and the Court of Appeal?
At first sight, from the accountant’s perspective, Martin-Dye was the simplest decision. Accounting and auditing standards, as well as first principles, make us ever mindful of the distinction between capital and revenue so a decision that treats ‘pensions in payment’ – and which can never be capitalised or transferred – solely as an income stream must be right.
