UK corporate offence of failure to prevent tax evasion
In July 2024, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published its “Quarterly Consultation Paper No. 44” (“Consultation”), which proposed introducing a requirement to provide criminal background checks on owners and...more
In the UK, it has not historically been part of the fabric of our legal and regulatory system to pay whistleblowers who provide evidence to authorities who are investigating potential breaches of law or regulation....more
The Pensions Brief is a monthly update for trustees and employers of occupational pension schemes in the UK. It provides headline summaries of developments over the previous month and associated action points. It also...more
On 13 August 2024, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), as part of a cross-regulatory group comprising the FCA, Companies House, HMRC and Charity Commission for England and Wales, published a discussion paper on the future...more
The United Kingdom (“UK”) has specific corporate tax rules on the taxation of loan relationships (parts 5 and 6 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 (the “Loan Relationships Regime”)). The Loan Relationships Regime contains rules...more
The Supreme Court confirmed in Centrica Overseas Holdings Ltd v HMRC that the tests for trading and management expenses of a capital nature are the same. The decision also confirms that once a company has decided in principle...more
Welcome to your weekly update from the A&O Shearman Pensions team, covering all the latest legal and regulatory developments in the world of workplace pensions....more
Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Director Nick Ephgrave has consistently touted the benefits of offering financial rewards to whistleblowers. With the FCA also considering its position on financial incentivisation, and a supportive...more
Welcome to the July edition of the UK Tax Round Up. This month features a call for evidence from the government on potential changes to the tax on carried interest and interesting decisions on the application of the carried...more
In HMRC v Burlington Loan Management DAC [2024] UKUT 152 (TCC) (“Burlington”) the Upper Tribunal (“UT”) dismissed HMRC’s appeal, holding that the First-tier Tribunal (“FTT”) was right to conclude that the anti-abuse provision...more
The characterisation of fixed and floating charges remains a complex area, not least with respect to new intangible asset types. The key distinction between a fixed and a floating charge is well established as a matter of...more
On 16 July 2024, the UK Supreme Court (SC) published its judgment in the case of Centrica Overseas Holdings Ltd (COHL) v HMRC. The ruling addresses the issue of whether professional advisory fees incurred in contemplation of...more
The Labour Party Manifesto for the election on 4 July 2024 has now been published. Our key tax takeaways from the manifesto for the asset management sector are as follows:.....more
Welcome to the June edition of the UK Tax Round Up. This month features the latest Court of Appeal decision in a trilogy of recent cases regarding the loan relationship “unallowable purpose” test, an Upper Tribunal decision...more
Welcome to our monthly update on current legal issues for trustees of DB and hybrid pension schemes, designed to help you stay up to date with key developments between trustee meetings and to support the legal update item on...more
Legislation in a hurry... Pensions tax is never simple, and the legislation abolishing the lifetime allowance (LTA) on 6 April 2024 (“L-Day”) bears this out. Regulations issued mid-March correct some, but by no means all, of...more
Orrick's Founder Series offers monthly top tips for UK startups on key considerations at each stage of their lifecycle, from incorporating a company through to possible exit strategies. The Series is written by members of our...more
The UK has specific corporate tax rules on the taxation of loan relationships (parts 5 and 6 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009 (the “Loan Relationship Regime”). The Loan Relationship Regime contains wide-ranging anti-avoidance...more
Businesses in the blockchain and cryptoasset space are increasingly looking to utilise digital currency and other cryptoassets as an alternative to or alongside other, more traditional employee incentive arrangements, such as...more
Issues affecting all schemes - General Election – impact on pensions legislation- As a result of Parliament being dissolved ahead of the General Election, the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, which makes a...more
In the appeal case of Krishnamohan v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 346, the UK’s First-Tier Tribunal (“FTT”) determined that an agreement titled “Option Agreement” that was entered into to dispose of certain properties, does not, for...more
The insertion of a US holding company by way of a share-for-share exchange, whereby the shares in an existing UK company (“UKCo”) are transferred to a new US company (“USCo”) in exchange for shares issued by USCo, is commonly...more
On 2 April 2019, the European Commission (the “Commission”) concluded that the group finance company exemption from the UK’s controlled foreign company (“CFC”) regime, in respect of finance income that derived from UK...more
On 10 April 2024, the UK government updated its guidance on export controls regarding breaches of relevant legislation. In addition to encouraging voluntary disclosures by businesses in respect of export control violations,...more
Welcome to April’s edition of our UK Tax Round Up. This month has seen a number of interesting decisions covering the application of the transfer pricing rules and the unallowable purpose test to an intragroup financing...more