In Seascope Insurance Services Ltd v HMRC (TC01664 – 10 January) a company (S) which carried on business as an insurance broker was a wholly-owned subsidiary of a UK company most of whose share capital was owned by a company (G) which was resident in Liberia. S claimed marginal small companies’ relief on the basis that it had two associated companies. HMRC rejected the claims on the basis that S had not provided sufficient information about G’s ownership and that it appeared that S might be associated with several overseas companies. S appealed. The First-tier Tribunal reviewed the evidence in detail and allowed the appeal. Judge Clark held that ‘in order to show that the relevant conditions are met the burden of proof falls on the taxpayer’. However the standard of proof was ‘the balance of probabilities’ On the...
