The Trustees of David Zetland Settlement v HMRCC [2013] UKFTT 284

July/August 2013 #131

The appellant trustees appealed from a notice of determination dated 16 February 2010 whereby HMRC refused inheritance tax business property relief on the basis that immediately before the ten-year anniversary on 22 September 2007, none of the property comprised in the settlement was relevant business property for the purposes of s104 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (IHTA). HMRC contended that the business was excluded under s105(3) IHTA in that it consisted ‘mainly of… making or holding investments’.

The principal asset of the settleme...

Bingham v HMRCC [2013] UKFTT 110 (TC)

June 2013 #130

The appellant (Mr Bingham), a sole practitioner, was a solicitor practising under the style of Bingham & Co. His practice, predominantly based on property transactions, prospered to such an extent that Mr Bingham was able to amass substantial sums of personal funds, which he deposited in a number of bank and building society accounts. These were subsequently consolidated in a money market account held jointly with his wife, to which were later added their children. Mr Bingham believed that the beneficial ownership of the funds could be changed by making them account holders and signa...

Ramsay v HMRCC [2012] UKFTT 176 (TC)

March 2013 #127

In 2004, the appellant (Mrs Ramsay) and her husband transferred a property that they owned (Moat House) into a corporate vehicle, TPQ Developments Ltd, in exchange for shares in that company.

Moat House was a large property converted into ten flats. Five were occupied at the operative time.

On her tax return for 2004/05, Mrs Ramsay claimed relief under s162 Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 (TCGA) (rollover relief on the transfer to the company).

In September 2007 HMRC raised an enquiry notice.

Mrs Ramsay argued in correspondence that the nume...

Murray Group Holdings & ors v The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs WTLR(w) 2013-02

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Matthews v HMRCC

January/February 2013 #126

The late Mrs Matthews (D) invested approximately £95,000 in a Building Society account with her son, the claimant, John Matthews (M) in 1999. The words ‘either signature’ were included in the special instructions for operation of the account. Between 1999 and 19 January 2007 when D died there were no withdrawals from the account and both D and M included half the interest on their tax returns. M claimed that D intended to make an immediate gift of the moneys in the account to him on the date it was opened and that he could have used that money for what ever purpose he wished,...

Silber v HMRC [2012] UKFTT 700 (TC)

January/February 2013 #126

By his will dated 12 May 1997, Martin Moses Menachem Lerner (deceased) divided his net residuary estate into ten equal shares between the appellant as to nine shares and the Chay Charitable Trust (CCT) as to one share. Subsequently, the deceased gifted £60,000 cash to the appellant and transferred in excess of £400,000 worth of quoted shares to the CCT. Following the deceased’s death on 21 October 1999, a disappointed beneficiary under a former will disputed the validity of the last will on the grounds of testamentary incapacity, but this was settled on 22 October 2001 on terms tha...

Hanson v HMRCC [2012] UKFTT 314 (TC)

December 2012 #125

In 2006, the appellant received loan notes as part of the consideration for a sale of a business. He disposed of these loan notes in 2008. The disposal gave rise to a chargeable gain for Capital Gains Tax (CGT) purposes of £1,261,387. Following the disposal the appellant read an article which suggested that UK holiday letting properties could be used to mitigate CGT charges. The appellant had already purchased such a property. He consulted with his usual accountants, Clarke Broom Flemming (CBF) who indicated to the appellant that a form of holdover relief would be available to mitigate t...

Mclaughlin v HMRCC [2012] UKFTT 174 (TC)

June 2012 #120

James Albert McLaughlin (taxpayer), who was UK resident, engaged in a marketed planning scheme to avoid tax on a capital gain that he had made on the sale of a business. The scheme involved the acquisition by exchange of shares for overseas registered loan notes issued by two subsidiaries of Skandia UK Ltd (loan notes). The taxpayer then transferred the loan notes to SG Hambros Trust Company Ltd (trustee) to hold on the trusts of a settlor-interested settlement that he had established on 5 February 2003. By a deed of addition made a month later, the trustee added Adrian Gower, who was do...

Hanson v HMRC [2012] UKFTT 95 (TC)

May 2012 #119

Joseph Nicholas Hanson (the appellant) appealed against a notice of determination dated 3 October 2005 that had determined that a farmhouse occupied by the appellant as his home at 11 The Green, Great Horwood, Milton Keynes (the house) was not agricultural property for the purposes of inheritance tax relief. HMRC’s position was that the required nexus between a farm building and agricultural land was common ownership and common occupation. The appellant submitted that the required nexus was common occupation only. It was further submitted by the appellant that his father, Joseph Ch...

Pawson (dec’d) v HMRCC [2012] UKFTT 51 (TC)

May 2012 #119

The appellants were the personal representatives of Nicolette Vivian Pawson (Mrs Pawson) and appealed against a notice of determination dated 1 October 2008. The notice had determined that Mrs Pawson’s 25% interest in a property known as Fairhaven, Thorpeness, Suffolk (Fairhaven) was subject to inheritance tax on a deemed disposal at the date of her death. The appellants contended that Fairhaven was entitled to relief as a relevant business property. Fairhaven was a large bungalow overlooking the sea in a holiday area. It had made a profit for each year since 2003, save for 2005/06...