Tax victory

Newham College, Cambridge, has won a major victory over HM Revenue and Customs after a five-year VAT battle through the courts.
In 2001, the university made arrangements to mitigate the £1.3 million VAT costs on its £7.5 million library. The law lords ruled that the college had properly taken advantage of a structure which allowed it to recover the tax on building a new library – a rare victory for a VAT-saving scheme. Ian du Quesnay, bursar, said the victory was important for the college. “We are delighted finally to have won this victory over a very significant sum of money. The careful planning allows us to put well over £1 million to the support of education, learning and research.”