Tax News

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.

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

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.

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. 

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.

In this podcast, tax associate Stephanie Mullins joins Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling to discuss the UK Supreme Court’s decision in Royal Bank of Canada which could call into question received wisdom on the Ramsay principle of statutory interpretation. Zoe and Tanja draw out lessons on evidence and witness selection from the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in Lloyds Asset Leasing before touching on a High Court decision in a VAT-related judicial review, HMRC’s revised view on Condition C in the salaried members rules, updates on changes to inheritance tax reliefs and business rates, and a National Audit Office report on the administrative cost of the UK tax system. The podcast’s international section focuses on the US with updates on the domestic tax policy process, a new reciprocal trade and tariff policy, and a memorandum which foreshadows US action against digital services taxes and wider policies to regulate digital businesses.

In this podcast, Tax Associate Nadia Hourihan joins Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling to discuss the Court of Appeal’s decision in ScottishPower that payments in lieu of penalties are tax deductible (even though no tax deduction would have been available for the penalties themselves).   Zoe and Tanja further discuss the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in NHS Mid & South Essex that withholding tax applied to an interest element included in certain redress payments. The podcast also covers the potential impact of President Trump’s inauguration day announcement on international tax reform, before diving into recent UK developments in relation to the multinational top-up tax and the domestic top-up tax (new draft HMRC guidance and government amendments to the Finance Bill) and OECD publications on Pillar Two, including new Administrative Guidance.

In this podcast, Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling discuss the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in Blackfriars Hotel applying an anti-avoidance provision in the loss relief regime to a loss-refreshing transaction reminiscent of the Kwik-Fit unallowable purpose case. They also discuss the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in Grint on the sale of occupational income rules (which had been used by HMRC as an alternative argument in the BlueCrest, HFFX and BCG  partnership remuneration cases) and the Court of Appeal’s decision in Refinitiv, a judicial review case concerning the compatibility of diverted profits tax notices with a prior advance pricing agreement. They are then joined by Tax Associate Kasim Mehmood for a discussion of the Supreme Court’s approach to interpreting tax legislation in Cobalt Data Centre and changes to HMRC’s capital gains manual in respect of the reorganisation rules. The podcast also covers PISCES, a proposed new type of regulated trading platform for private shares, and what 2025 might bring in terms of UK, EU and US tax developments, including (in case of the UK) various consultations on changes to the transfer pricing rules as well as potential enquiry activity in this area.

In this special episode of our Tax News podcast, Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling asked Arvind Ravichandran, Tax Partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, what U.S. tax policy may look like during a second Trump Administration. During the episode, we cover: The significance of the Republican Party achieving a “trifecta” in the November 2024 elections. How tax legislation can be passed by simple majority vote through the Budget Reconciliation process. What policy proposals could be on the table and how you can look out for clues as the incoming Administration’s policies develop. Listen to the podcast to learn more about what might happen next on U.S. tax policy.

In this podcast, Catrin Young, Senior Professional Support Lawyer in the Pensions Team, joins Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling to discuss the government’s policy decision at the Autumn Budget to bring unused pension savings and death benefits into the scope of inheritance tax (with the charge to be administered by pension trustees), and HMRC’s recent clarification that the authorised surplus payment charge payable by the trustees of a defined benefits scheme when returning a surplus to an employer is to be calculated by reference to the gross amount of the surplus (rather than the amount received by the employer). Zoe and Tanja also discuss the increase in late payment interest from April 2025, two updates to HMRC guidance, the UK expert panel’s report on a potential corporate re-domiciliation regime and certain international developments. The podcast further covers three UK cases: the First-tier Tribunal’s decision in Syngenta, denying interest deductions for a loan created in an intra-group reorganisation under the unallowable purpose rule in section 441 of the Corporation Tax Act 2009, and the Upper Tribunal’s decisions in Gould on the tax point for an interim dividend where two shareholders were paid around eight months apart, and in Panayi on conforming interpretation.

In this podcast, tax associate Alex Sim joins Zoe Andrews and Tanja Velling to discuss the Upper Tribunal’s decision in Muller on the interaction of certain provisions in the intangible fixed assets regime with the rules on the taxation of partnerships.   Zoe and Tanja also discuss the CJEU’s decisions in the Apple and UK CFC rules State aid cases, the Supreme Court’s decision in Professional Game Match Officials Limited on employment status and the stamp duty land tax case Brindleyplace in which the First-tier Tribunal employed purposive construction in favour of the taxpayer.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.