In Tills Plus Limited v HMRC [2024] TC9235, a company's director failed to provide sufficient detail that his company's project met the definition of R&D. There were unusual payment arrangements with a subcontractor in Iran and the claim was rejected by the tax tribunal.
Hello,
The King's Speech did not reveal anything that we did not really know in terms of the new government's policies, and subsequently it published more detail on the first bills that will go before the new parliament. HMRC is really ramping up the stakes now by sending out 'one to many' letters to Persons of Significant Control (PSC) on the Companies House register as well as to deemed contractors under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) rules: watch out for these: they constitute a 'nudge' and need to be acted upon. We have several tax cases which are all topical in their own right, covering Research & Development (R&D), carried interests, tax relief on investment management fees and failure to notify.
The Welsh Government has published a summary of responses to its earlier Land Transaction Tax (LTT) consultation which proposed changes to reliefs, including the abolition of Multiple Dwellings Relief (MDR).
In Get Onbord Limited (in liquidation) v HMRC [2024] TC09238, the First Tax Tribunal (FTT) considered the meaning of R&D as whether a project heavily reliant on Open Source coding and software to develop a streamlined and AI-automated process for onboarding new clients under the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) was actually engaged in 'research and development' in terms of the BEIS Guidelines. The FTT also advised future claimants on their approach to case management.
King Charles III made his speech on the State Opening of Parliament today. He confirmed the 'big ticket measures' that the new government will privatise the railways and introduce a new Great British Energy company. In terms of business and tax it will ensure that every decision is consistent with set fiscal rules and scrutinised by the Office of Budget Responsibility, there will be reforms of audit and corporate governance and new measures on pensions and investment. VAT will be charged on private school fees.
HMRC has made Form P1000 available on gov.uk. Agents should use Form P1000 when requesting authority to act as personal representatives of an estate.
In Nicholas Millican v HMRC [2024] TC09239, the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) found that the post-July 2015 carried interest rules did not apply for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes. Although the individual supplied investment management services, they were not supplied to an investment scheme.
In its latest one-to-many campaign, HMRC is writing to Persons with Significant Control (PSC) who have not filed a tax return or may not have declared all their income, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). We note that HMRC's letter will count as a 'prompt' if any income or gains have not been reported under Self Assessment.
In Roy Bevan v HMRC [2024] TC09225, a landlord was unsuccessful in his appeal against tax penalties assessed for his failure to declare small amounts of rental income over 15 years. The tribunal decided that "it was not objectively reasonable" for the Appellant to have failed to consider the ramifications of renting out a property.
In Centrica Overseas Holdings Limited v HMRC [2024] UKSC 25, the Supreme Court (SC) confirmed that professional fees incurred in relation to the disposal of a subsidiary were management expenses. However, the SC agreed with the Court of Appeal (CoA) that these expenses were capital in nature and should therefore be disallowed.
