Tax News

Tax News: November 2025

For this month’s edition, Alex Sim joined Zoe Andrews to discuss three cases of the FTT: Dialog (the tax treatment of break fees), Boulting (purchase of own shares was not a distribution) and Ferrero (the VAT treatment of Nutella biscuits). 
 
The podcast then covers HMRC’s campaign on management expenses and HMRC’s policy (set out in Revenue & Customs Brief 6 (2025)) on VAT deduction on insurance intermediary services supplied outside the UK following the FTT’s decision earlier this year in Hastings Insurance.
 
Alex and Zoe go on to explore various international developments including the OECD’s recent APA/MAP awards and France’s proposal to double the rate of its digital services tax.

Tax News: October 2025

Sarah Osprey joined Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling to discuss trends in HMRC enquiries and the use of criminal investigation powers in a tax context.

The podcast then covers the Supreme Court’s decision in Prudential Assurance on the interaction between the VAT grouping and time of supply rules, and the CJEU’s decision in Arcomet Towercranes that transfer pricing adjustments can trigger VAT liabilities.

Tax News: September 2025

Sarah Osprey joined Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling to talk about tax disputes and our exciting new project in this area.

The podcast further covers three decisions of the First-tier Tribunal:

• Currys Retail on the capital gains tax degrouping charge
• Millennium Cash & Carry, the first case on the so-called “sugar tax” which highlights the limits of statutory construction
• Motorplus on VAT recovery with the FTT commenting on HMRC’s extraordinary behaviour

Zoe and Tanja go on to discuss L-Day materials including draft legislation for inheritance tax on inherited pension and death benefits, HMRC’s increased powers to close in on promoters, and the mandatory registration requirement for tax advisers interacting with HMRC, as well as certain other UK and international tax developments.

Tax News: July 2025

Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss the following recent cases:

• Dolphin Drilling: the Supreme Court’s decision on the meaning of “incidental” should not be read as having wider application beyond the oil contractor regime
• Haworth (Court of Appeal) applying the place of effect management test to a trust in the context of a “round the world” capital gains tax scheme
• Marlborough DP (Court of Appeal) on the tax treatment of a remuneration structure involving loans made by a trust and the meaning of “in connection with” in Part 7A of ITEPA
• Osmond: the Upper Tribunal held that it was an error of law to equate seeking a capital gains tax relief with having a main purpose of obtaining an income tax advantage
• Eastern Power Networks (First-tier Tribunal), a cautionary tale on structuring to maximise consortium relief

The podcast also covers HMRC’s new guidance on advance pricing agreements for cost contribution arrangements, the government’s recently published tax policy making principles, Revenue & Customs Brief 4 (2025) on input tax recovery in respect of investment and administration costs linked to occupational pension funds and what’s next for Pillar Two.

Tax News: The One Big Beautiful Bill

Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling are joined by Arvind Ravichandran, Tax Partner at Cravath, to discuss the impact the proposed section 899 could have on US capital markets if enacted but how it is unlikely to be a big issue in practice.

They cover:

• The purpose and potential withdrawal from the Bill of Section 899, a proposed tax on foreign investors, in response to global tax developments
• How changes to the GILTI regime aim to more closely align U.S. tax policy with OECD standards
• The mix of permanent tax cuts and temporary “America First” measures included in the Bill
• Key negotiation points for Congress including the SALT cap, Medicaid reforms, and clean energy tax credits

Tax News: June 2025

Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss the Upper Tribunal’s decisions in Walkers Snack Foods on the VAT classification of “Sensations Poppadoms” and Rettig Heating Group, the judicial review of HMRC’s refusal of a late claim to set off a non-trading loan relationship deficit. They then discuss the Court of Appeal’s decision in Beard on the meaning of “dividends of a capital nature”.

The podcast also covers the UK government’s plans to modernise stamp taxes on shares, draft legislation for the reform of diverted profits tax, and transfer pricing and permanent establishment legislation, and a consultation on the potential changes to the process for resolving tax disputes.

It further discusses HMRC’s revised unallowable purpose guidance and international news including on a US tax change (the addition of a new Code section 899) that could significantly increase the tax cost of investing in the US for residents of countries that are deemed to impose “unfair” taxes.

Tax News: May 2025

Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss the First-tier Tribunal’s decisions in:

• Candy giving overpayment relief for an SDLT charge on the substantial performance of a contract that was later cancelled
• Refinitiv on the taxpayer’s successful application for a direction to issue closure notices
• Vaccine Research Limited Partnership where purposive construction was used to look at transactions in the round and conclude that certain licence fees were not “income” 

They also cover the Court of Appeal’s decision in WTGIL on the scope of the VAT exemption for insurance intermediation. 

The podcast further discusses the postponement of the consultation on the tax treatment of pre-development costs, HMRC’s revised guidance on the salaried members rules, legislation on territories recognised as having implemented a qualifying income inclusion rule or domestic minimum tax, and a few other UK domestic and international developments. 

Tax News: April 2025

Partner Alex Dustan from our Infrastructure and Energy team joined the April 2025 edition of our Tax News podcast to discuss the consultation on a “new permanent mechanism…to respond to future oil and gas price shocks” once the Energy Profits Levy ends, and the Court of Appeal’s decision in Gunfleet Sands on tax relief for pre-development costs.

Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss the consultation on advance tax certainty for major projects and certain other points from the UK Chancellor’s Spring Statement. The podcast further covers the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in Hastings Insurance Services allowing input tax recovery in respect of a so-called “offshore looping structure” - the decision is of wider interest as an example of the application of the UK’s VAT rules post-Brexit - and the Court of Appeal’s decision in Innovative Bites on the VAT classification of Mega Marshmallows. Zoe and Tanja also touch on some EU developments.