Tax News

The latest edition of Slaughter and May's Tax News podcast (July 2026) is out now, hosted by Zoe Andrews (Head of Tax Knowledge) and Tax associate Amy Motherwell.

The podcast covers several developments that may be relevant to you including:

• Key cases: The Supreme Court's decision in HFFX on the limits of purposive construction and the charge to miscellaneous income; the Upper Tribunal's decision in Barclays Services Corporation upholding the FTT's finding that a US company's UK branch lacked sufficient resources to constitute a fixed establishment for VAT grouping purposes; and the Upper Tribunal's decision in Swiss Centre on when payments qualify for deductions under the loan relationship regime.
• UK developments: HMRC's consultation on reducing the high effective tax rates faced by UK-resident individual members of US LLCs and other reverse hybrid entities; the surprise consultation on modernising the distributions framework covering share buybacks, demergers, returns of capital and transactions in securities; and HMRC's Transformation Roadmap progress update including new third-party data reporting obligations and plans to improve digital services.
• International spotlight: The European Commission's tax simplification package comprising a Direct Taxation Omnibus Directive amending six existing EU tax directives and a DAC recast consolidating all administrative cooperation rules into a single instrument — with adoption of the DAC recast potentially achievable by end of 2026.

For this month’s edition, Gabrielle Pereira and Alex Dustan join Zoe Andrew to discuss:

• Supreme Court's Gunfleet Sands decision: A restrictive ruling on capital allowances for predevelopment costs 
• Electricity Generator Levy: Increase from 45% to 55% from July 2026, with voluntary fixed-price contracts
• Court of Appeal in Burlington : Important clarification of treaty purpose tests, with global implications for the principal purpose test 
• Court of Appeal in MR Currell : The purpose of a payment does not determine its legal character 
• VAT classification of Mega Marshmallows (Innovative Bites ): They're zero-rated food, not confectionery 
• Inbound redomiciliation consultation: Proposals to allow foreign companies to move their place of incorporation to the UK 

For this month’s edition, Ed Milliner joins Zoe Andrews to discuss three cases: Sintra (CA) – burden of proof in tax penalty appeals, Lycamobile (UT) – VAT on bundle plans (and two perfect quotes about VAT…), and Muller (CA) – how the partnership notional company fiction interacts with the intangible fixed assets rules.

The podcast then covers various UK tax developments including: tax adviser registration rollout with proposed delay for in house teams in the financial services industry, NAO report on taxing large businesses, and uncertain Tax Treatment consultation on extending the notification regime – including a possible new trigger where HMRC’s position is not known and there is more than one credible legal interpretation.

For this month’s edition, Jamshed Bilimoria joins Zoe Andrews to discuss three cases: Hotel La Tour (Supreme Court judgment on input VAT recovery on deal fees), Tower One St George Wharf (Court of Appeal decision on SDLT and anti‑avoidance) and Font (High Court decision on judicial review in MAP dispute).

 

The podcast then covers aspects of the Autumn Budget and Finance Bill including: mandatory tax adviser registration, SDRT exemption for newly listed companies, reform of transfer pricing, and permanent establishment (PE) rules; and the new corporation tax charge replacing DPT and changes to the share for share exchange rules and the impact on clearances.

 

Jamshed and Zoe go on to explore international developments in two areas: the OECD’s global minimum tax “side‑by‑side package” (including new safe harbours and simplification measures) and the OECD updates on global mobility, including when home‑working may (or may not) create a PE.

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.

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.

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.

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.