Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) avoidance schemes have returned to the headlines following the handing down of a judgement of the First-Tier Tax Tribunal in the case of (1) Crest Nicholson (Wainscott) Limited (2) Crest Nicholson (South East) Limited (3) Crest Nicholson Operations Limited –v- The Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs, [2017] UKFTT 134 TC05628.

In 2017 we reported on a finding at the First Tier Tribunal that the Root 2 Alchemy Tax Scheme (the Scheme) had been found to be a disclosable tax avoidance scheme under the DOTAS rules (the DOTAS Decision).

The Financial Ombudsman Service has extended its scope and can now require financial services businesses to pay compensation of up to £350,000.

Everyone likes the word “reasonable”, especially lawyers. It is an objective term that has been analysed and tested over the years. The popularity of the concept also means that it is perceived as an acceptable compromise position to allow contracts to be signed (and argued about later). A similar line of analysis applied to understand when terms will be implied into contracts has now been clarified and overturned.

The role of a trustee of a trust varies depending on the type of trust, its specific provisions, and the trust assets held. This note explains some of the main duties and powers which apply to most types of trust.

There has been a flurry of Inheritance Act 1975 cases in the last few weeks, most recently the case of Re H where an adult child claimant was successful despite her being estranged from her father and having had no financial assistance from him for a number of years prior to his death, and he had left his estate to his elderly and disabled spouse.

A recent decision by the First-tier Tribunal has decided that contributions to, and subsequent loans from, a remuneration trust scheme were not ‘earnings’ or disguised remuneration.

Earlier this summer, the Department for International Trade launched a mentoring scheme in partnership with AHDB and the NFU with the aim of matching an experienced exporter with a farmer or food producer keen to explore export markets for their produce.

“Golden Brick” is a mechanism which enables a developer to complete a sale of VAT elected land to a Registered Provider (RP) before practical completion of the affordable housing dwellings and for that sale to be treated as a zero- rated supply for VAT purposes rather than a standard rated supply.

There is no generally accepted definition of overage. Rather, it is a term used to describe a situation where a seller, in certain circumstances, is entitled to share in an increase in the value of land which is realised post completion of the sale.