Background It is human nature to treat change with some apprehension. This can sometimes be the case even if it is for the better. However, any change that clearly makes life simpler is more readily accepted, although this does seem to be particularly rare these days as far as tax is concerned. HMRC recently issued… Read More »
Cases post ‘Arctic’ The Government may have shelved its proposed ‘income shifting’ legislation for now, but it seems that the ‘settlements’ anti-avoidance provisions are still alive and kicking even after the House of Lords decision in Arctic Systems, with two cases recently being heard before the Special Commissioners. Dividend waivers In Buck v Revenue and… Read More »
Background Taxpayers (or their advisers) completing 2007/08 tax returns have been faced with answering the following question, which has not been asked in tax returns for previous years: “Total amount of any income included anywhere on this Tax Return, derived from the provision of your services through a service company – read page TRG 15… Read More »
Deliberate but not concealed? The new penalty regime for incorrect tax returns affects income tax, corporation tax, VAT, PAYE and other returns, for periods from 1 April 2008 which are due to be filed after 31 March 2009, and is therefore now generally upon us in terms of personal and company tax returns for current… Read More »
ESCs after ‘Wilkinson’ HMRC are considering withdrawing many of their Extra Statutory Concessions (ESCs). This follows the House of Lords’ decision in R v HM Commissioners of Inland Revenue ex p Wilkinson [2005] UKHL 30, which indicated that HMRC’s administrative discretion to make and apply ESCs that depart from the strict legal position is more limited… Read More »
Trusts and Estates Taxpayers and entrepreneurs will now be becoming familiar with entrepreneurs’ relief (ER), which has been with us since 6 April 2008, particularly as it affects individuals. However, what is the ER position regarding trusts and estates? Personal Representatives The position regarding the personal representatives of a deceased individual is that no ER… Read More »
Full relief or half? It is not uncommon for married couples (or civil partners) to take out a joint loan, where only one of them (say, the husband) applies the proceeds for a purpose that qualifies the loan interest for tax relief. What is the tax position if the interest on the joint loan is… Read More »
New HMRC powers Despite many taxpayers (and some agents!) considering that HMRC already have enough powers, new powers were introduced in Finance Act 2008, which are scheduled to take effect from 1 April 2009 (FA 2008, Sch 36). The new powers allow HMRC officers to issue notices to provide information or produce documents “for the… Read More »
Inter-company loans It is not an uncommon ‘exit’ strategy for retiring shareholders to sell their shares to a newly-formed holding company. This can happen in management buyout (MBO) situations, or possibly for tax or commercial reasons of the purchaser. For example, ‘Holdco’ may offer shares or cash to all shareholders of ‘Tradeco’, with the exiting… Read More »
They think it’s all over … it is now! This will be a familiar quotation to football loving readers of Taxation (or the more senior ones, anyway), being the famous words from Kenneth Wolstenholme’s BBC TV commentary in the closing moments of the 1966 World Cup, in which England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra… Read More »