Mark McLaughlin Associates

Determining a person’s domicile can be a difficult task. It very much depends on the facts, with circumstances varying in each case. Many taxpayers and advisers would welcome the facility to agree a person’s domicile status with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in advance of submitting tax returns. Unfortunately, HMRC seems increasingly reluctant to do [...]

Gift Aid is a generous relief, particularly in the present tax climate. Its attraction to individuals is that the basic rate limit (£37,400) and the higher rate limit (£150,000) can be increased by qualifying Gift Aid donations (ITA 2007, ss 10(6), 414(2)). HMRC is seemingly aware of the generosity of the relief, and has previously [...]

It is perhaps a reflection of the complexity of tax legislation and the uncertainty often caused by its ambiguity that HMRC offers various clearance facilities for ‘customers’ and their advisers: Statutory clearances, which the tax legislation requires HMRC to provide (e.g. for transactions in securities, under ITA 2007, s 701); A non-statutory clearance service for [...]

In Revenue and Customs v PA Holdings Ltd [2010] UKUT B8, the Upper-tier tribunal (UTT) dealt with appeals from both parties against decisions of the First- tier tribunal (FTT). The case concerned an arrangement by PA Holdings Ltd (PA) to effectively reroute bonuses awarded to UK resident employees, so that they were paid and taxed [...]

Tax advisers will doubtless be familiar with ‘error or mistake’ claims. These claims broadly arise if a taxpayer has paid (or been assessed to) tax which they believe is not due. Error or mistake claims were sometimes referred to as ‘section 33 claims’, because the statutory reference for the claim was in section 33 of [...]

Many business owners operate more than one business, often through different legal entities. This can sometimes lead to unexpected and unwelcome tax consequences. Companies and partnerships Care is needed if one of the businesses is a close company and the other business is a sole trader or partnership, where the unincorporated business owner is a [...]

The first Finance Act of 2010 introduced a new penalty regime in respect of undisclosed offshore accounts, from a date to be appointed by Treasury Order. The publicity generated by this legislation resulted from a ‘headline’ maximum penalty rate of 200%. Many individuals, particular those with a foreign connection, have offshore accounts these days. In [...]

Extra Statutory Concessions (ESCs) have been with us for decades, but are now slowly disappearing. This follows the House of Lords’ decision in R v HM Commissioners of Inland Revenue ex p Wilkinson [2006] STC 270, which raised issues about the validity of ESCs and the extent of HMRC’s discretion to make and apply them [...]

The reduction in personal allowances for those with income exceeding £100,000 was introduced from 6 April 2010 for 2010-11 and later years. The effect of legislation introduced in Finance Act 2009 is that personal allowances above that level are tapered away, and at current levels are reduced to nil if adjusted net income exceeds £112,950, [...]

Distinguishing between repairs expenditure and capital costs is often difficult. The distinction can become even more difficult in the case of an old, dilapidated building. Where there’s a Will(s)… In Christopher Wills v Revenue & Customs [2010] UKFTT 174 (TC), the taxpayer appealed when HMRC disallowed a claim for £43,665 in respect of repairs to [...]