Key facts
- Former Formula 1 champion Jody Scheckter has lost a tax appeal against HM Revenue and Customs.
- The tax bill amounts to £1,457,634.
- The bill is connected to losses from Scheckter's organic buffalo farming enterprise, Laverstoke Park.
- HMRC ruled that losses from the farm were wrongly offset against profits from other businesses between 2008 and 2010.
- The offset provision requires a farm to become profitable within five years, which Laverstoke Park did not achieve.
- The First Tier Tribunal dismissed Scheckter's appeal.
Former Formula 1 world champion Jody Scheckter has lost a legal battle against the UK's tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), over a £1.4 million tax bill. The ruling by the First Tier Tribunal dismisses Scheckter's appeal concerning losses from his organic buffalo farming enterprise, Laverstoke Park.
Scheckter, who retired from Formula 1 in 1980 and later invested heavily in his biodynamic farm in Hampshire, England, had sought to offset losses from the farm against profits from his other businesses. However, HMRC deemed this arrangement invalid because the farm did not become profitable within the required five-year period after its establishment. The period in dispute for the offset was between 2008 and 2010.
Laverstoke Park, which supplied organic meat and specialized in buffalo mozzarella, announced its closure in 2024 due to rising costs and other financial pressures. Judge Tony Beare expressed regret over the outcome of Scheckter's passion project, acknowledging the significant personal and financial investment made by the former racing driver.