{
  "id": 15872547,
  "title": "Supreme Court blocks Scottish Power’s £28m tax write-off",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/21/supreme-court-blocks-scottish-powers-28m-tax-write-off",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-21T10:19:34.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/supreme-court-blocks-scottish-powers-28m-tax-write-off/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Supreme Court has ruled that Scottish Power, an energy company, cannot deduct £28 million in regulatory settlement payments from its taxable corporate profits. This decision comes after a lengthy legal battle with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The dispute arose from an investigation by the energy regulator Ofgem into Scottish Power between 2013 and 2016, which found issues such as mis-selling, poor complaints handling, and inadequate cost transparency. To settle the investigation, Scottish Power agreed to pay around £28 million directly to consumers and consumer organizations. However, the company sought to claim tax deductions on the £28 million, a claim HMRC denied. The case has been in court since 2021, with HMRC arguing that the majority of the payments were not deductible, while Scottish Power maintained that one payment of £554,000 was. The Upper Tribunal agreed with HMRC, and Scottish Power appealed to the Court of Appeal, which upheld their position. The Supreme Court recently allowed HMRC's appeal, restoring the Upper Tribunal's decision, and stated that treating regulatory settlements as fines would create an unfair advantage, encouraging companies to negotiate settlements to avoid formal penalties.",
  "summary": "Scottish Power is bracing for a million-pound tax bill after losing a protracted legal battle with HMRC. The Supreme Court has ruled that the energy giant cannot deduct £28m in regulatory settlement payments from its taxable corporate profits. The legal case stems from a probe by the energy regulator Ofgem into Scottish Power between 2013 [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}