In these testing times the ramifications of COVID-19 continue to be felt in every area of personal and corporate life. With lockdowns announced around the world, including in the UK on 23 March 2020, travel has been severely...more
Budget Announcements -
The most significant announcements were:
- immediate reduction in the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs' relief from £10 million to £1 million along with some "anti-forestalling" provisions to...more
Earlier this evening (26 March 2020) the UK Chancellor announced the new Self-Employed Income Support Scheme to help the self-employed face the economic hardship wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are the key...more
Earlier this evening the UK Chancellor announced an economic intervention which is “unprecedented in the history of the British state” with measures to support the United Kingdom economy in the midst of COVID-19. Below are...more
3/23/2020
/ Business Interruption ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Federal Grants ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Loans ,
Self Employed ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Planning ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Last night (17 March 2020) the UK’s Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay, announced in the House of Commons that the government is postponing the implementation of the changes to the application of the off payroll...more
As we reported in our Tax Talks blog of 8 January, the Government has carried out a review of the implementation of the changes to the private sector IR35 rules. This review has now completed with the Government confirming on...more
UK General Tax Developments -
HMRC updates to the private sector IR35 rules -
On 7 February 2020, HMRC confirmed that the new private sector IR35 rules will only apply to payments made for services provided on or...more
3/5/2020
/ Collective Investment Schemes ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Investment ,
HMRC ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Private Equity ,
State Aid ,
Tax Planning ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
UK General Tax Developments -
Date set for next UK Budget -
The first Budget of the new Conservative government will be held on Wednesday 11 March. There has been significant speculation that there will be a major...more
1/31/2020
/ Anti-Avoidance ,
Articles of Association ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Draft Guidance ,
Entrepreneurs ,
EU ,
HMRC ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Investment Funds ,
Partnerships ,
Private Equity ,
Remuneration ,
Tax Reform ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
There has been much talk recently about “review and reform” (or abolition) of entrepreneurs’ relief. This seems to have moved a step closer this week with Boris Johnson stating that the Treasury are “fulminating” against it...more
In the Finance Act 2018, the UK Government enacted a number of changes to the information required in partnership returns that raised the concern of undue and impracticable administrative burden being imposed on UK investment...more
As announced by the Chancellor in the run up to the recent General Election, the Government is launching a review into the implementation of the changes to the IR35 rules for private sector workers scheduled to be introduced...more
UK Case Developments -
IR35 – no mutuality of obligation to create a contract of employment -
RALC Consulting Ltd v HMRC has provided the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) with another opportunity to consider the application...more
1/6/2020
/ Collective Investment Schemes ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Cryptoassets ,
Employment Contract ,
HMRC ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Personal Services ,
Private Equity ,
Remuneration ,
Tax Liability ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
UK Case Law Developments -
More decisions on IR35 -
This month has seen two more decisions on whether broadcast presenters providing their services to the BBC and ITV respectively would or would not have been...more
12/2/2019
/ Corporate Taxes ,
Cryptoassets ,
Distribution Rules ,
Employment Tax ,
EU ,
HMRC ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
OECD ,
Self-Employment Tax ,
UK ,
UK Cryptoassets Taskforce ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Draft legislation included in the Finance Bill 2019-2020 will potentially make directors and certain other individuals closely connected to a company jointly and severally liable for a company’s tax liabilities that arise...more
New rules to be introduced from April 2020 will make certain companies who engage workers through intermediaries (the “client”) subject to...more
UK Case Law Developments -
Reliance on HMRC's manual statement can, but didn't, give rise to legitimate expectation -
In the recent judicial review case of Roao Aozora GMAC Investment Ltd v HMRC, the Court of Appeal...more
10/31/2019
/ Arm's Length Principle ,
Corporate Taxes ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
GAAR ,
HM Treasury ,
HMRC ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
OECD ,
Private Equity ,
Share Purchase Agreements ,
Tax Planning ,
Transfer Pricing ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Case Law Developments -
Place of supply for VAT purposes -
The recent case of American Express Services Europe Limited (AESEL) v HMRC is a useful reminder of the well-established two-stage approach to determining the...more
10/7/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Corporate Taxes ,
EU ,
HMRC ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Tax Planning ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
UK Case Law Developments -
Valid notice crucial to tax indemnity claim -
The Court of Appeal (CA) decision in Stobart Group Ltd v Stobart and another is a cautionary tale for any purchaser who, following the...more
9/3/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
HMRC ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Offshore Funds ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Tax Avoidance ,
Tax Liability ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Finance Bill 2019-2020 -
The FB19-20 was published on 11 July. The majority of the matters included have been announced previously with no surprise measures. The draft legislation is now open for consultation. We have...more
8/1/2019
/ Anti-Abuse Rule ,
Anti-Avoidance ,
Capital Losses ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
Digital Services Tax ,
HMRC ,
International Tax Issues ,
Stamp Duty Land Tax ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
Guernsey SPV not resident in the UK -
In Development Securities plc and others v HMRC, the Upper Tribunal (UT) has overturned the prior discussion of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) in favour of the taxpayer in an important...more
7/1/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Board Meetings ,
Corporate Governance ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Goods or Services ,
HMRC ,
International Tax Issues ,
Parent Corporation ,
Subsidiaries ,
Tax Assessment ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
UK General Tax Developments -
HMRC updates guidance on what constitutes "ordinary share capital" -
Following the decision by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) in Warshaw V HMRC, reported in our UK tax blog earlier this...more
6/5/2019
/ Anti-Abuse Rule ,
Anti-Avoidance ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Economic Substance Doctrine ,
GAAR ,
HMRC ,
International Tax Issues ,
Stamp Duty Land Tax ,
Tax Avoidance ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
There has been another development on the tricky but important subject of whether the rights attaching to preference shares mean that they are or are not ordinary shares for entrepreneurs’ relief (and other tax)...more
UK Case Law Developments -
Damages on share sales same as on other sales -
In Oversea Chinese Banking Corporation Ltd v ING Bank NV, the Commercial Court has held that the measure of damages for breach of warranty in...more
5/2/2019
/ Acquisitions ,
Capital Gains ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
HMRC ,
International Tax Issues ,
Mergers ,
Private Equity ,
Shareholders ,
State Aid ,
Stock Options ,
UK ,
Warranties
EU developments -
European Court rules that withholding tax exemptions under EU Directives can be denied by abuse of rights principle -
At the end of February, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued...more
4/3/2019
/ Anti-Avoidance ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Capital Gains ,
Controlled Foreign Corporations ,
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ,
HMRC ,
Income Taxes ,
International Tax Issues ,
Member State ,
OECD ,
Parent Corporation ,
Subsidiaries ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT) ,
Withholding Tax
Following lengthy consideration since December 2017, the European Union, on 12 March, updated its blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions in tax matters. It has added 10 new jurisdictions, meaning that there are now 15...more