Liverpool minicab firm defeats Uber in Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that minicab drivers could trade directly with passengers, a legal position that means the vast majority of private hire trips will not incur the 20pc tax.
Uber and other minicab firms in London have had to pay VAT on rides since the US company lost a High Court case in 2021. However, the situation was unresolved outside the capital, which is governed by different private hire laws.
Uber had sought a legal declaration that all minicab operators should have to pay VAT, with the High Court ultimately siding with the US tech company on the matter.
However, this was later challenged by Delta Taxis, a Liverpool-based minicab firm that has operated in the city since 1968.
Delta warned that a victory for Uber would lead to a 20pc rise in fares and had positioned the battle as a 'David vs Goliath moment', accusing Uber of a 'cynical, heavy-handed attack against smaller, independent family-run businesses like ours'.
The Merseyside company, which has around 2,000 drivers, had raised money for the case by crowdfunding along with Cardiff firm Veezu. They were also supported by Uber rival Bolt.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Delta's successful Court of Appeal challenge, meaning that small firms can keep operating without paying VAT.
The decision is the latest legal setback for Uber, which has suffered defeats over the status of its drivers as well as its business model in London.
The legal arguments centred around whether minicab firms could employ an 'agency' model, in which a passenger's contract is with the driver, or a 'principal' model, in which the passenger's contract is with the business.
Under the former model, fares are generally not liable for VAT, since individual drivers do not tend to meet the £90,000 annual revenue threshold for paying the tax.
The Supreme Court ruled that operators outside of London could employ either model.
Uber and other minicab firms in London pay VAT under the principal model. The US company has applied this policy nationwide and said it would continue to do so despite the ruling.
'Time to level the playing field'
An Uber spokesman said: 'The Supreme Court ruling confirms that different contractual protections apply for people booking trips in London compared to the rest of England and Wales. The ruling has no impact on Uber's application of VAT, which has been upheld twice by other courts.'
Bolt, an Uber rival, called for legal changes to overturn VAT charges in London. Kimberly Hurd, its UK boss, said: 'We welcome the court's decision to uphold the agency model, a framework taxi firms and customers across the country have relied on for 50 years.
'It's time for a modern, consistent regulatory framework that levels the playing field for all operators, regardless of where they are.'
Uber and Bolt have separately challenged HMRC over how VAT is charged on fares.
The companies have argued that the tax should only be applied to a business's cut of fares, which is between 15pc and 25pc, while HMRC had argued it should be the entire fare.
HMRC has stopped collecting VAT from Uber after Bolt won a legal victory against the tax authority in March, pending a ruling in Uber's separate case.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Newly qualified doctors face ‘recurring cycle of debt', BMA warns
Students in their final undergraduate year, along with those in the later years of a post-graduate medical degree, get a reduced student loan alongside an NHS bursary. This leads to a £3,674 drop in funding on average, according to the BMA. Sophie Mitchell, deputy co-chair (finance) of the BMA's medical students' committee, told the PA news agency: 'A lot of people are using these loans in previous years to either pay their rent and to live off. 'Losing out on a significant portion of that is meaning that students are struggling. 'We've got people maxing out overdrafts, we've got people maxing out credit cards. 'We've got people going into very significant debt just to actually finish this degree.' The average medical student faces 12 months of this reduced funding. However, some post-graduate students, along with those on six-year degree programmes, face up to three years, Ms Mitchell said. Some are them are also faced with relocation expenses ahead of starting their first job in the NHS. 'The issue with that is most academic years or final years start in around the middle of August,' Ms Mitchell said. 'You are then having this reduced rate of funding until you then get paid at the end of August the following year. 'I know that a lot of my colleagues have had to get loans to pay their rent, or they've had to get credit agreements so that they can pay their rent. 'Also then having to relocate to a new place where you're getting this reduced rate of funding has been a struggle for a lot of people. 'A lot of my friends were already graduating, maxing out their overdrafts, and then they've had to get overdraft extensions to help them live until they get paid at the end of August. 'It's creating this recurrent cycle of debt that people are really struggling to get out of until that first paycheck.' Ms Mitchell said she knows of new graduates stewarding football matches or taking zero hours bar work to get by. She added: 'We have people working behind bars. 'We have people stewarding. 'One of my friends is actually working for Uber at the moment, because it was the only work that she could get that meant that she could get some employment in the area that she's in.' Ms Mitchell is heading the BMA's Fix Our Finance campaign alongside co-chair Henry Budden. 'Quite a common thing that we've heard about the campaign is 'every student gets a job, why are you guys complaining so much?',' she told PA. 'But I think what people maybe aren't so aware of is actually how intense our course is. 'You're training for that role that you're about to start. 'You're in hospital Monday to Friday, nine to five. 'Some universities make their students do night shifts. 'Some universities make their students also do weekends on top of this. 'And then on top of that placement, where you're learning to be a doctor, you're also having to revise for your exams.' The BMA is calling on the Government to ensure medical students receive full student finance maintenance for the entirety of their course. The union claims this would cost the Treasury £24 million and just 0.12% of Student Finance England annual lending. Ms Mitchell and Mr Budden warned the 'situation isn't sustainable' and 'does nothing to help those from poorer backgrounds or improve participation in medicine'. 'Medicine is longer than many other degrees for good reason; because we want to ensure doctors working in the NHS have the best possible training,' they added. 'It is only right then that they should receive the appropriate funding to see them through the entirety of their course.' A Government spokesperson said: 'NHS bursary grants were uplifted from last September for the first time since 2015 and will increase again by forecast inflation this year, but we know there is more to do to support future NHS doctors. 'The 10-Year Health Plan explicitly acknowledges that the cost of studying medicine is a barrier for working-class students. 'We are determined to break down these barriers and ensure the NHS workforce reflects the communities it serves, which is why we're exploring options to improve financial support to students from the lowest socio-economic background so that they are able to thrive at medical school.'
Western Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Western Telegraph
Garden centre can keep key building after planning battle
In an application to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, Moylegrove-based Penrallt Garden Centre Ltd, through agent Preseli Planning Ltd sought permission for a certificate of lawful development for a workshop building on site, constructed and substantially complete in February 2021. An application for a certificate of lawfulness allows an applicant to keep a development if they can provide proof of occupancy or use over a prolonged period. A supporting statement said: 'It is understood that no formal enforcement action has been taken by Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority in relation to the structure and that an enforcement notice has not been served. No attempt has been made to conceal the development at any time. 'It is contended that the building was constructed and substantially complete in February 2021. Evidence [of] aerial photos of the site are available in 2020, 2021 and 2023, where the building does not appear to be shown in 2020, but is present in the 2021 and 2023 layer.' Local community council Nevern raised no objection to the proposal, saying: 'The shed is required for efficient running of the garden centre. The garden centre provides employment for 20-plus people, [an] important business in Moylegrove, this shed should be granted certificate if lawfulness. 'The shed has been constructed in a place where is not affecting views of the PCNP, and it is clearly associated with the garden centre.' An officer report recommending approval said: 'The local planning authority is satisfied that the evidence accompanying the application is sufficient to establish that the existing use is lawful. a recommendation to issue a lawful development certificate is hereby made. 'The applicant has submitted a range of supporting information, including aerial images of the site (from 2020, 2021 and 2023) where the building can be observed, as well as a sequence of photos of the building partially constructed and completed from January and February 2021.' It said those images were 'additionally corroborated through the review of the site using Google Earth Images which shows the presence of the building as of July 19, 2021 on historic imagery'. 'As the building would amount to operational development, the applicant would need to demonstrate that the building had been substantially completed more than four years before the submission of the certificate application. In this case, the applicant has demonstrated that the building has been there for four years.' A certificate of lawful development was granted by park planners.
The Herald Scotland
2 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Alexander Isak set to miss opener as Newcastle ‘not in position' to refuse sale
Howe revealed that talks with Isak, the subject of a rejected £110million bid from Liverpool, are ongoing, but he does not expect any resolution before the season's opener. Thank you to the 30,782 inside St. James' Park this evening for your fantastic support 👏 We'll see you tomorrow! 🖤🤍 — Newcastle United (@NUFC) August 8, 2025 The Magpies' head coach said: 'I'd want Alex to be playing today, I'd want him training tomorrow. We would love the player to be with us – let me make that absolutely clear. There's no part of me that doesn't want that outcome. 'But I don't see that changing before Aston Villa, the current situation we're in.' Isak has cut a lonely figure at the Magpies' training ground since his return to Tyneside having been ordered to work away from the main group following his non-appearance for the club's pre-season trip to Singapore and South Korea. His indication that he wants to explore his options this summer, coupled with Liverpool's bid – Newcastle value him at closer to £150m – have created a tense stand-off. Isak's unhappiness has left the club with a major decision to make – cash in now and make a significant profit on a man who cost them £63m three summers ago, or try to persuade him that his future remains on Tyneside and that he should sign a new contract to replace his existing deal, which has three years still to run. Asked if the club could simply dig in their heels and refuse to sell their star frontman, Howe said: 'I don't think it's that straightforward, otherwise we'd have done that a long time ago. I don't think we're in a position to do that currently. 'I don't want to go into too much detail because I don't think that's right. I think I've said enough.' Liverpool boss Arne Slot refused to comment on the Premier League champions' pursuit of the Swede at his press conference on Friday morning as the Magpies continue to work on potential signings after a frustrating summer to date. RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko's decision to opt for Manchester United rather than Newcastle represented a fresh blow and while they are working on other targets, their need is mounting by the day. The club's failure to date to land potential signings – they have recruited Anthony Elanga and Aaron Ramsdale, who saved a penalty against the Spanish side on his debut, but have missed out on Hugo Ekitike, Sesko, James Trafford and Joao Pedro – has prompted suggestions that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which owns an 85 per cent stake, is not as engaged as it once was. However Howe, who admitted the Isak situation has unsettled a previously united squad, was unequivocal in his denial. He said: 'The owners are very much engaged, as much as they always have been. 'This has been a challenging period where there'll be a lot of different opinions on different subjects, but can assure everybody connected with Newcastle that the owners are very much behind the project and fighting every day for the club.'
