Dunsby v HMRC [2022] WTLR 81
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2022 #186Mr Mark Dunsby participated in a tax avoidance scheme devised and promoted by De Sales Promotions Ltd. As part of the scheme, in March 2013, Mr Dunsby had a company, of which he was sole shareholder and director, issue a non-voting share to a non-resident individual, Mrs Fiona Gower. Mrs Gower established a trust and settled the share in the trust, with the benefit of any dividends being for Mr Dunsby, and Mr Dunsby’s company paid £200,000 as a dividend in respect of the settled share. As a result of the scheme, Mr Dunsby received £195,400. HMRC issued a closure notice dated 31 March 201...
Dunsby v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2021] WTLR 157
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Spring 2021 #182This was an appeal concerning a tax avoidance scheme designed to allow shareholders in private companies to extract profits without paying income tax on them.
Prior to entering into the scheme, T was sole director and shareholder of M Ltd. The scheme had three steps:
- (1) On 11 March 2013, the board of directors of M Ltd (ie T as sole director) and T resolved to approve the creation of a new class of ‘S’ ordinary shares and the necessary amendments to M Ltd’s articles of association. On the same day, M Ltd (by resolution of T as sole shareholder) created the new S clas...
Rialas v HMRC [2019] WTLR 1251
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Winter 2019 #177During the relevant tax years, R was resident and ordinarily resident, but not domiciled, in the United Kingdom. He was a Cypriot national. He held 50% of the issued shares of ACM, a company incorporated in England and Wales. R worked full time in ACM, which carried on a successful business as a fund manager. C held the other 50% of the shares of ACM.
In order to sell his shares in ACM, R decided to acquire C ‘s shares in ACM using a trust and a company resident outside the UK and borrowed funds, also from an offshore company. R established the R Trust, a discretionary family trus...
Shiner v The Commissioners for HM Revenue & Customs [2018] WTLR 649
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Summer 2018 #172Facts
DS and IS were at all material times resident in the UK for tax purposes and were beneficially entitled to the income from MOH, an English property development company of which they were the shareholders and directors. On advice, they used a tax avoidance scheme that took advantage of the provisions of the 1955 UK-Isle of Man double tax treaty (DTT). These provisions exempted the industrial or commercial profits of an Isle of Man (IOM) enterprise, which could include a partnership, from UK tax unless it was engaged in trade or business in the UK through a permanent establis...
Rangers v Advocate General for Scotland [2017] WTLR 1093
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | Autumn 2017 #169The appeal concerned a tax avoidance scheme by which employers paid remuneration to their employees through an employees’ remuneration trust in the hope that the scheme would avoid liability to income tax and Class 1 national insurance contributions. The question on appeal was whether an employee’s remuneration was taxable as their emoluments or earnings when it was paid to a third party in circumstances in which the employee had no prior entitlement to receive it himself or herself.
The employing companies, including RFC, operated the tax avoidance scheme in the tax years between...
Wood v HMRC [2016] UKUT 346 (TCC)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | October 2016 #163In June 2010, Michael Wood admitted to under-declarations of income tax for the years 2002-03 to 2007-08 amounting to £743,424 and made a payment of tax of £352,983. This was made with a view to taking advantage of an HMRC disclosure opportunity for medical professionals called the ‘Tax Health Plan’, with a fixed tax geared penalty of 10% of the amount of tax under-declared. HMRC argued that the disclosure fell within the Tax Health Plan and opened a Code of Practice 9 investigation into his affairs. Michael Wood agreed to provide a disclosure report (the disclosure report) into his affa...
Gedir v HMRC [2016] UKFTT 188 (TC)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2016 #160In 2008, the appellant (A) was employed by Bear Stearns in the risk arbitrage unit before and during the period that it was acquired by JP Morgan. A received an offer from JP Morgan to continue to work in his role at the bank, which he accepted. But ultimately in September 2008, he took up a role with Goldman Sachs instead along with other members of his team at Bear Stearns. On leaving Goldman Sachs in 2010, A received a termination payment of £627,965 which he reported in his tax return.
A claimed foreign service relief on the termination payment. The ‘foreign service’ related t...
Groves v HMRC [2014] UKFTT 858 (TC)
Wills & Trusts Law Reports | June 2016 #160The appellant (A) in his capacity as executor of an estate appealed against the imposition of a late filing penalty of £400 in relation to a trust and estate tax return for the year 2012/2013.
HMRC sent A a notice on 6 April 2013 requiring submission of a trust and estate return for that year by 31 October 2013 for paper returns or 31 January 2015 if electronically. On 18 February 2014 HMRC sent A a notice of penalty assessment of £100 for failure to submit the return on time. A appealed to HMRC on 4 March 2014 stating that he had written to HMRC on 27 March 2013 clarifying that ...