ANTI AVOIDANCE

Just as we contemplate the demise of the remittance basis, Oliver Marre (5 Stone Buildings) examines the first Upper Tribunal decision on a key provision on those rules.

The obvious conclusion from the Upper Tribunal decision is that every standalone company should form a dormant subsidiary, writes Robert Langston (Saffery Champness), but there are anti-avoidance rules to consider.

Following a raft of recent case law, HMRC’s has revised its guidance on the unallowable purpose rules. Helen Buchanan and Sarah Bond (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer) consider what it says about HMRC’s approach to purpose-based enquiries and the situations which HMRC would normally regard as involving a tax avoidance purpose.

The APPG on responsible tax proposes criminally prosecuting tax advisers for avoidance planning. Craig Kirkham-Wilson (Simmons & Simmons) explains why the report is based on some misguided assumptions.

Lynnette Bober (Gateley Legal) focuses on some key issues and problem areas which are likely to cross many advisers’ desks this year.

Michael Flaherty and Nigel Giles (BDO) provide a refresher guide to these intricate and wide-ranging rules which can easily be overlooked when advising on migration tax planning for individuals.

Don Morley, Yvonne Cypher and Basim Khattab (PwC) explain the importance of businesses retaining documentation of commercial decision making as HMRC increasingly focuses on areas of international tax risk.