Where a person pays tax in both the UK and abroad, the general rule is that double tax relief may be available up to the lower of (i) the UK tax on the doubly taxed income, or (ii) the foreign tax on the doubly taxed income. However, there are a number of issues that should be considered before making a claim for double tax relief: 1. Is there a double tax treaty with the country concerned? Double tax relief may be available through either a double tax treaty or through statute where there is no double tax treaty with the country concerned. Where there is a double tax treaty in place, this may affect the amount and mechanism of the relief. 2. Does the double tax treaty cover the relevant tax? For example, the UK current...

A US Limited Liability Company (LLC) is treated as a partnership for United States tax purposes.  That is, a US person who is a member of the LLC has a direct interest in the LLC’s assets and activities. However, the tax treatment of an LLC for UK tax purposes has been debated. The ongoing test case is George Anson v HMRC (also known as Swift Case), which was found in favour of HMRC in the Court of Appeal in February 2013.  It was found in favour of HMRC in that it was held that US LLC’s are opaque for UK tax purposes,  in essence akin to a company for UK tax purposes.  The reason for this decision was primarily because the LLC could make its own decisions, independent of its members. We have advised a client in the past m...

Update Spring 2014 - The Court of Appeal has found in favour of the accountants confirming that they did not act negligently on the basis that Harben Barker were not "under any duty to advise the claimant of significant tax advantages which, to their reasonable knowledge, did not exist". Update Summer 2013- case of Hossein Mehjoo v Harben Barker to be appealed.  See our recent blog for more information http://pdtaxconsultants.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/hossein-mehjoo-v-harben-barker-negligence-appeal/ Original Article - Hossein Mehjoo v Harben Barker & the Bearer Warrant Scheme In the recent case of Hossein Mehjoo v Harben Barker, the High Court found that an accountant that failed to make his client aware that his non-domicile tax st...

Update Spring 2014 - The Court of Appeal has found in favour of the accountants confirming that they did not act negligently on the basis that Harben Barker were not "under any duty to advise the claimant of significant tax advantages which, to their reasonable knowledge, did not exist". Update Summer 2013 - case of Hossein Mehjoo v Harben Barker to be appealed.  See our recent blog for more information http://pdtaxconsultants.wordpress.com/2013/06/24/hossein-mehjoo-v-harben-barker-negligence-appeal/ Original Article In the recent case of Hossein Mehjoo v Harben Barker, the client successfully sued their accountant for over £1 million after the High Court ruled that the failure of the accountant to advise on tax planning in relatio...

Taxpayers that are subject to the UK-Swiss Tax Treaty still have time to take action to avoid the one off levy being applied on 31 May 2013. One Off Levy Under the UK-Swiss Tax Treaty Under the terms of the UK-Swiss tax treaty, ‘relevant persons’ will be subject to a one off levy of between 21% and 41% on 31 May 2013. The precise rate of the one of levy will depend on a number of factors such as the length of time the account was opened. For these purposes, a relevant person is a person that has a beneficial interest in a Swiss bank account/deposit and was UK resident at 31 December 2010. For many taxpayers, the cost of the one off levy will be higher than the actual tax that would have been payable under the normal rules or a dis...

The governments of the UK and Isle of Man have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, known as the IoM Disclosure Facility or the Manx Disclosure Facility. From 6 April 2013 up to 30 September 2016 UK tax residents with Isle of Man assets will be able to disclose unpaid UK tax liabilities in respect of worldwide income and gains through the facility. Key Benefits The benefits to UK Taxpayers that meet the terms of the agreement are:- Guaranteed reduced rates of penalties; and A restriction on UK liabilities to periods post 6/4/99 only There are additional benefits where the bespoke service is utilised (broadly speaking this applies where a professional adviser is appointed to deal with the disclosure). There is no guarantee against c...