FA 2010 analysis – Sale of lessors

The sale of lessors anti-avoidance legislation (now in CTA 2010 Part 9) was brought in to deter tax motivated sales of lessors and in particular the sale of leasing companies from profitable groups to those with losses once the capital allowances and finance expense arising to the lessor no longer exceeded its rental income. The regime has had to be amended every year since to deal with the fact that it has been both too effective deterring commercially driven non-tax motivated sales and not effective enough with transactions which HMRC feels should have been caught benefitting from perceived loopholes which are then closed down. This year is no exception with both a loophole to be closed and a change intended to reduce the impact of the rules on commercial transactions having been announced in the 2009 PBR and with the legislation to give effect...