The Brain Disorders Research LP and N Hockin v HMRC

In The Brain Disorders Research LP and N Hockin v HMRC [2017] UKUT 176 (8 May 2017) the UT found that a capital allowances scheme failed.

The partnership and Mr Hockin appealed against HMRC’s decision to deny claims for capital allowances in relation to a scheme they had implemented. The scheme worked as follows. A taxpayer would make contributions into the partnership using mainly substantial borrowings. The purported analysis was that those contributions attracted capital allowances as capital expenditure on scientific research as they went from the partnership to Numology Ltd which subcontracted research work to BRC an Australian company. The amounts paid to Numology represented only part of the taxpayers’ contributions to the partnership as the bulk of the monies went back to the lender banks in various ways. The scheme was therefore similar to Vaccine Research Partnership [2014] UKUT 389.