The newly elected UK Labour government published its call for evidence (see link here) on the taxation of carried interest on Monday 29 July 2024. This consultation by HM Treasury, cautiously anticipated following statements made during Labour’s election campaign, will remain open until 30 August 2024 during which time
UK Tax
UK Supreme Court confirms no deduction for expenses related to share and asset sale
By Stephen Pevsner & David M. Ward on
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 a sale of a group company (actually resulting in a sale of…
Change to non-domicile tax regime forms part of UK Spring Budget 2024
As part of the UK’s Spring Budget 2024, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, has announced the abolition of the remittance basis for income tax and capital gains tax for non-UK domiciled, UK resident individuals (the “Non-Dom Regime”) with effect from 6 April 2025. It is proposed…
HMRC updates guidance on UK tax status of non-UK entities and US LLCs post Anson
On 6 December, HMRC updated the section in its International Manual discussing the UK tax characterisation of overseas entities, and of Delaware (and other US) limited liability companies (LLCs) in particular (in INTM180000 and INTM180050).
This part of the International Manual sets out HMRC’s views on whether certain foreign…
BlueCrest FTT Decision – Salaried Member Rules and Asset Managers
The recent decision of the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) in BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP v HMRC (29 June 2022) is the first time the UK’s salaried member rules (the Rules) have been considered in the context of an asset management limited liability partnership (LLP). BlueCrest is engaged in providing hedge fund investment management services. In summary, the FTT found that certain of BlueCrest’s members who were responsible for managing significant investment portfolios had ‘significant influence’ over the affairs of the LLP, irrespective of whether that influence on a financial level amounted to managerial influence over the whole of the LLP’s affairs, such that those members were not salaried members (but that other members who were not engaged in portfolio management did not have significant influence for these purposes, as explained below).
The decision in respect of the significant influence condition for portfolio managers will be welcomed by asset management LLPs. However, it is generally expected that HMRC will appeal the decision, particularly given that it appears to be at odds with HMRC’s approach, as set out in the HMRC Partnership Manual, that only members involved in the top level management of an LLP should treated as having significant influence over its affairs.
Court of Appeal overturns High Court and holds that tax claim notice was valid
By Stephen Pevsner & Katerina Heal on
This was an appeal against the High Court decision in Dodika Ltd & Ors v United Luck Group Holdings Limited from August 2020 (see our Tax Blog on this). The case concerns the question of whether the notice given by the buyer to the sellers under a sale and purchase…
New OTS report recommends changes to UK’s capital gains tax regime
By Stephen Pevsner & Rebecca Wallis on
The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has published its first report following its review of certain aspects of the UK’s capital gains tax regime requested by the Chancellor in July this year with the specific purpose of identifying opportunities relating to technical and administrative issues as well as areas where…
High Court decision highlights importance of ensuring claims notices include required information
By Stephen Pevsner & Rebecca Wallis on
In Dodika Ltd & Ors v United Luck Group Holdings Limited, the High Court (HC) has accepted the sellers’ argument that a notice of a tax claim under a tax covenant served on them by the buyer was invalid because it did not contain the level of information required…
UK Tax Round Up
By Catherine Sear, Robert E. Gaut & Stephen Pevsner on
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 month, HMRC has updated its guidance on what constitutes “ordinary share capital” for the…
Are fixed rate preference shares “ordinary share capital” for entrepreneurs’ relief – more or less certainty?
By Rebecca Wallis & Stephen Pevsner on
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) purposes.
Recent cases have shown that share with no right to a dividend are ordinary shares.…