Tax News

Tax News: September 2024

In this podcast, Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling highlight points related to the Chancellor’s statement on public spending inheritance. They also discuss updated HMRC guidance on the multinational top-up tax and domestic top-up tax and comments from the business community.

Before moving on to HMRC statistics on the tax take and litigation outcomes for 2023/24, Zoe and Tanja discuss VAT and the Clapham omnibus, two VAT-related developments in the EU and the Supreme Court’s decision in Centrica on the deductibility of M&A advisers’ fees as expenses of management.

How does the purpose of your borrowing impact tax deductibility?

Join Tanja Velling, co-host of our Tax News podcast and Tax Partners, Dominic Robertson and Charles Osborne, as they discuss the unallowable purpose rule, one of the UK's restrictions on companies deducting interest when calculating profits subject to corporation tax.

This episode dives into:

• How this rule disallows interest deductions where a company’s borrowing is for a main tax avoidance purpose; and
• recent Court of Appeal decisions on what constitutes a main tax avoidance purpose and what this means for taxpayers, particularly in an M&A context.

Tax News: July 2024

In this podcast, Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling share thoughts on the IFS publication “The government’s record on tax 2010-24” and HMRC’s estimate of the tax gap for the tax year 2022/23 in the context of Labour’s general election victory.

They also discuss the Court of Appeal’s decisions in JTI on the unallowable purpose rule in the loan relationships regime and Altrad Services on an attempt to create a “magical” uplift in qualifying expenditure for capital allowances, and the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Watts on a gilt strip scheme.

The podcast further touches on wealth taxes, the US Supreme Court decision in Moore and the Australian Full Federal Court decision in PepsiCo (as a follow-on from our special podcast series on international tax disputes), updates from the OECD and the EU’s FASTER proposal on withholding taxes.

Tax News: June 2024

In this podcast, Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss the Upper Tribunal’s decisions in the remuneration trust case Marlborough DP and the VAT classification case Innovative Bites. In considering the latter, Zoe and Tanja also touch on a recent IMF paper with a design proposal for a progressive VAT system.

The podcast further covers the Court of Appeal’s judgment in Hotel La Tour on input tax recovery in respect of deal fees and the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Burlington Loan Management on the application of the purpose test in the UK/Ireland tax treaty and its impact on the secondary debt market.

The upcoming general election in the UK is mentioned only briefly to explain why it is unlikely that there will be a Budget before the middle of September.

Tax Disputes Series - France

What does the recent trend of criminalisation of transfer pricing matters in France mean for businesses operating in the country? What tools are tax authorities in France using to obtain information and to enforce the rules? What action can be taken to minimise French transfer pricing risk and what options are available to resolve disputes?

Julien Gayral, Partner at Bredin Prat, joined Charles Osborne and Zoe Andrews to discuss these questions and more.

This is the final episode in a series on tax disputes risks. In addition to France, the series covers Brazil, the USA, Australia, India and Nigeria.

Tax Disputes Series - Nigeria

How do Nigerian tax disputes generally proceed? Should taxpayers continue to comply with the transfer pricing regulations although their validity is in question? How are plans for a tax amnesty likely to develop?

Lolade Ososami, Partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie, joined Sarah Osprey and Tanja Velling to discuss these questions and more.

This is the fifth of six episodes in a series on tax disputes risks. In addition to Nigeria, the series covers Brazil, the USA, Australia, India and France. Episodes are released weekly. Subscribe to the Tax News show to be notified of new episodes.

Tax Disputes Series - India

Why is India's tax disputes landscape unique? How should taxpayers best approach dealings with the Indian tax authority? What is the impact on taxpayers of the recent case concerning the most favoured nation clause in Indian tax treaties, including for multinationals taking dividends out of India?

Mukesh Butani, Founder and Managing Partner of BMR Legal Advocates, spoke with Sarah Osprey, Partner in Slaughter and May’s Tax Practice, and Zoe Andrews, Head of Tax Knowledge at Slaughter and May, to answer these questions and more.

This is the fourth of six episodes in a series on tax disputes risks. In addition to India, the series covers Brazil, the USA, Australia, Nigeria and France. Episodes are released weekly. Subscribe to the Tax News show to be notified of new episodes.

Tax News: May 2024

In this podcast, Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss two Court of Appeal decisions on the loan relationships unallowable purpose rule in section 441 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009: BlackRock and Kwik-Fit. In both cases, the Court of Appeal confirmed the Upper Tribunal’s decision that there was an unallowable tax avoidance purpose. In BlackRock, this led to a complete disallowance of all interest deductions whereas, in Kwik-Fit, the deductions could be partly attributed to the taxpayers’ commercial purpose and consequently allowed. The podcast draws out key lessons.

Zoe and Tanja also discuss the Court of Appeal’s welcome clarification, in Hargreaves Property Holdings, that the exemption from withholding tax for interest to which a UK-resident company is beneficially entitled is not automatically lost merely because the company on-pays the interest. The podcast further covers changes to HMRC guidance, including on the exemption from the 1.5% stamp taxes charge, clearances in respect of the purpose test in the capital gains tax reorganisation rules and the post-Brexit interpretation of VAT and excise law, as well as international tax developments at the OECD and UN.