Michael Thomas BA (1st Class) Oxon, BCL (Oxon). Member of Gray’s Inn. Joined Gray’s Inn Tax Chambers 2001. Formerly worked in the Corporate Tax Department at what was Price Waterhouse.

Michael Thomas deals with all aspects of business and corporate taxation, both advisory and contentious, and covers all UK taxes. He has particular expertise in real estate taxation and advises on transactions of all shapes and sizes. This has involved him in everything from major city centre redevelopments and the acquisition of commercial investment properties with values in excess of £100 million to the partition of family farms.  He has recently been involved in establishing a number of bespoke structures for property joint ventures.  Chambers and Partners guide to the Bar says that he is thought by many to be the “go-to man for detailed SDLT advice on the most complicated transactions.”

Although much of Michael’s advisory work has some property connection, this has necessarily provided him with experience on a broad range of issues involving both corporate and personal tax for a variety of clients because land is typically valuable and so is frequently at the heart of transactions and restructuring exercises. He is also acting for an increasing number of farmers and landed estates.

On the litigation side, Michael’s aim is to obtain the very best outcome for his clients, which means securing a result without the need to trouble a court and the attendant risk, stress and costs to which hearings inevitably give rise. He has an established track record of achieving such favourable outcomes both through correspondence and in settlement negotiations. Where a trial becomes necessary then he is more than happy to fight his clients’ cases and he has appeared in courts and tribunals at all levels. Although he has previously represented HMRC, he is now instructed only by taxpayers. His litigation experience is diverse and includes defending professional negligence actions and litigating tax deed claims. He has also acted in civil fraud investigations under Code of Practice 9.

Michael’s book, entitled Stamp Duty Land Tax, is published by Cambridge University Press (3rd edition due 2009) and he is a member of the VAT Practitioners Group and the Stamp Taxes Practitioners Group. He is also a well-known speaker on taxation and provides in-house training to firms of solicitors and accountants.

His free time is spent with his wife and young sons. His hobbies include tennis, the countryside and travel and he has discovered that yoga helps him to offset the detrimental effects of working too hard.