Helen Gilbey and Sarah Falk (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) report
Finance Act 2015 includes measures to prevent companies from returning cash to shareholders in a way that offers a choice between income and capital treatment.
These changes were first announced in the Autumn Statement in December 2014. They came as a surprise and will disrupt a well established practice that many will have assumed was blessed by the GAAR guidance.
A number of factors will influence a company’s choice of method to return cash to its shareholders including tax. One such method a B share scheme was originally introduced to enable companies to provide a capital return to shareholders. Over time B share schemes developed to...
