Tower Radio Ltd v HMRC

In Tower Radio Ltd v HMRC (and related appeal) (TC02784 – 18 July) a company (T) entered into a tax avoidance scheme devised by an accountancy firm involving the award of restricted shares in a subsidiary company to its managing director (L) with the aim of paying him a substantial bonus without incurring any liability to PAYE or NIC. The subsidiary company was subsequently liquidated and its assets were distributed to L. HMRC issued determinations charging PAYE and NIC. The FTT dismissed T’s appeal specifically distinguishing the Upper Tribunal decision in UBS AG v HMRC (No. 2) [2013] STC 68. Judge Kempster observed that the UBS case ‘involved several hundred employees of multinational services companies’ whereas in the present case there was ‘a very close identity’ between T and L and it was...