inheritance tax

Yet another nail in the coffin for offshore arrangements?

The UK Government has introduced a raft of legislation to address tax evasion and latterly tax avoidance. This has included; The Requirement to Correct legislation which has introduced punitive offshore penalties and extended assessing time limits for Income Tax, Inheritance...

Another go at simplifying the taxation of trusts?

The Chancellor announced in his 2017 Autumn Budget that the Government will publish a consultation in 2018 on how to make the taxation of trusts “simpler, fairer and more transparent”. This won’t be the first time that the Government has...

Trouble aboard the good ship HMRC?

It is said that the real sign that a ship is in trouble is not when the rats jump overboard but when the officers abandon it mid-voyage. If that’s the case, HMRC appears to be sinking because a number of...

Draft Finance Bill 2016- miscellaneous clauses

Here we summarise some of the less prominent draft clauses for the 2016 finance Bill. These may have been announced before or represent little change in practice but they are all important because they all affect someone. Capital Gains Tax: disposals...

Inheritance Tax – Minor measures

Following lots of discussion and debate in recent years regarding the reform of inheritance tax (IHT), only a couple of minor points arose in the autumn statement. First, following a number of changes over recent years extending the exemption from...

Indistinct IHT hallmarks risk blurring DOTAS

On 16 July 2015 HMRC published draft Regulations containing the proposed IHT hallmarks for DOTAS ( Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes) purposes. These have attracted attention and criticism because of the breadth of their potential application. Consequences of arrangements being...

No more Inheritance Tax on the family home?

From 5 April 2017 there will be a new £175,000 allowance on homes left to children and grandchildren. At the same time the Chancellor confirmed that the current nil rate band of £325,000 will be fixed until 2020/21. Both allowances...

Tax charges on death of pension policyholder

The Taxation of Pensions Bill 2014 (TPB) will enact the tax changes enabling flexibility of pension draw-down. Changes were announced to the tax treatment of funds remaining in a personal pension scheme on the death of the member.   Under current...

New intestacy and trust rules from October 2014

The new Inheritance and Trustees’ Powers Act 2014 (ITPA 2014), due to come into force on 1 October 2014 includes changes affecting how: intestate estates are distributed; and trustees can distribute income and capital to beneficiaries These changes apply to...

Simplification of IHT charges on trusts

Individuals who have established trusts need to be aware of forthcoming changes to their tax treatment, due in April 2015. Those looking to use trusts as part of a wealth management/succession plan will need to consider whether the use of...

Availability of IHT Business Property Relief

The professional bodies have issued a technical release on the availability of BPR in two situations. Firstly, where shares in unquoted trading companies are held by partnerships or LLPs. Secondly, where surplus cash is held by businesses and companies, which...