HMRC v AML Tax (UK) Ltd

In HMRC v AML Tax (UK) Ltd [2022] UKFTT 114 (TC) (30 March 2022) the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) decided that two tax schemes were notifiable arrangements under the disclosure of tax avoidance scheme (DOTAS) provisions and that the company was a promoter of those schemes. 

The first of the two schemes (the ‘annuity arrangements’) was used by close companies and involved the use of an option and an annuity agreement to clear the loan accounts of directors/shareholders. The second scheme (the ‘EBT arrangements’) involved an employee benefit trust (EBT) set up by an Isle of Man company related to AML. An employer company would buy the right to appoint beneficiaries to the EBT with the purchase price left outstanding. One or more employees of the user company would then agree to assume the obligation to pay and in return an amount previously lent...