Appointment of New Acting President of The First-Tier Tax Chamber

His Honour Sir Stephen (John Lindsay) Oliver QC has been appointed by the Senior President of Tribunals, Lord Justice Carnwath, as Acting President of the Tax Chamber of the First-Tier Tribunal with effect from 1 April 2009.

He will be the first person to take on this role. The Tax Chamber has been created under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. His appointment will run until 16 April 2011.

After completing national service between 1957 and 1959, His Honour Sir Stephen Oliver was called to the Bar (Middle Temple) in 1963, and was appointed as a Queen’s Counsel in 1980.  He was appointed as a Recorder in 1989, a Circuit Judge in 1991 and became Presiding Special Commissioner and President of the VAT and Duties (formerly Value Added Tax) Tribunals in 1992. He has been President of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal since 2001 and the President of the Pensions Regulator Tribunal since 2005.

As Acting President of the First Tier Tax Chamber Sir Stephen will have responsibility for leading the judges and members of the new Tax Chamber. It takes over the jurisdictions of the General and Special Commissioners of Income Tax, the VAT and Duties Tribunal and the section 703 Tribunal. It therefore deals with all types of appeals about tax, and sits throughout the United Kingdom.