Inheritance tax and the acceptance in lieu scheme – Mills & Reeve

Posted January 24th, 2024 in chambers articles, HM Revenue & Customs, inheritance tax, news, taxation by sally

‘A 500-year-old miniature Italian Renaissance bronze was recently donated to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge under the acceptance in lieu scheme – saving the family £10.5 million in inheritance tax. This unique donation is an excellent reminder of HMRC’s acceptance in lieu scheme and how beneficial it can be in inheritance tax mitigation.’

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Mills & Reeve, 24th January 2024

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

Society warns on Finance Bill changes – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Law Society today reminded private client solicitors that the Finance Bill is set to restrict charitable tax reliefs to UK charities only, with donations located in the EU and the European Economic Arena (EEA) no longer qualifying for UK charitable tax reliefs from April 2024. This will impact individuals who claim income tax or capital gains tax relief on donations to non-UK charities and those who expect inheritance tax exemption on lifetime gifts or on legacies to such organisations.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 15th May 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘How does a jointly held property pass on death?’ – Family Law

Posted September 3rd, 2021 in housing, inheritance tax, news, succession, wills by tracey

‘When meeting with clients to discuss their succession planning, many cannot recall whether their property is held jointly as joint tenants or jointly as tenants in common.’

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Family Law, 31st August 2021

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Company Law: What happens on the death of a shareholder? – Bloomsbury Professional Law Online Blog

Posted August 5th, 2021 in company law, executors, inheritance tax, news, shareholders by sally

‘According to the office of national statistics, sole proprietor businesses and partnerships are decreasing and the use of private limited companies is increasing. 72.5% of total UK businesses are either private or public limited companies – London remains the region with the largest number of such businesses with 19.2% of the UK total.’

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Bloomsbury Professional Law Online Blog, 4th August 2021

Source: law.bloomsburyprofessional.com

Law firm ordered to pay £1m for registration error – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has ordered a defunct Manchester law firm which failed to register a restriction against a house at the Land Registry to pay over £985,000 in damages for professional negligence.’

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Legal Futures, 15th February 2021

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

How cohabiting couples should protect their finances – Family Law

‘Historically, cohabitation agreements, sometimes known as “no-Nups”, were frowned upon as they were seen to encourage sexual relations outside of marriage. Thankfully, times have moved on and that’s no longer the case. The general view is that such agreements are enforceable if they deal with cohabitees’ property and affairs, and provided they are entered into freely with full information. Often, disputes between cohabitees following separation relate to what was or wasn’t intended, for example, in relation to the property in which they live. Having a clear record of the cohabitees’ intentions in a cohabitation agreement can avoid expensive disputes about those issues.’

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Family Law, 30th September 2020

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

New Judgment: Commissioners for HMRC v Parry & Ors [2020] UKSC 35 – UKSC Blog

Posted August 20th, 2020 in inheritance tax, news, pensions, statutory interpretation, Supreme Court by sally

‘This appeal was about whether the pension scheme transfer by the late Mrs Staveley, and her omission to take income benefits which were then payable, constituted, or are to be treated as constituting, for the purposes of the Inheritance Tax 1984 a “disposition” which is a “transfer of value” in favour of her sons, who were to be the beneficiaries of the death benefit.’

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UKSC Blog, 19th August 2020

Source: ukscblog.com

Dealing with estate administration – Family Law

‘It is the job of Executors (appointed under a Will) or Administrators (entitled by law where there is no Will) to deal with administering the estate of someone who has died.’

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Family Law, 22nd May 2020

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Sally Challen can inherit controlling husband’s estate, rules judge – The Guardian

‘A woman who won an appeal over her conviction for murdering her controlling husband can inherit his estate, a judge has ruled.’

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The Guardian, 27th May 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Arron Banks fails in effort to use human rights laws to avoid £162,000 tax bill – The Guardian

‘Arron Banks, the businessman and Ukip party donor, has failed in his attempt to use human rights laws to dismiss a £162,000 tax bill.’

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The Guardian, 2nd April 2020

Source: www.theguardian.com

Reform of inheritance tax: an update – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted February 5th, 2020 in chambers articles, inheritance tax, news, taxation by sally

‘Last summer, I wrote a series of articles about the Office of Tax Simplification’s Inheritance Tax review, second report. There has now been a further development, in the form of the report of All-Party Parliamentary Group on Inheritance & Intergenerational Fairness (APPG), published in January 2020, entitled “Reform of inheritance tax”. The APPG was established in February 2019 and its stated purpose is “to examine the impact the current system of inheritance tax is having on members of the public and identify areas of reform and improvement as well as keep under review the issue of intergenerational fairness and bring forward potential solutions to help solve it”. It is one of the organisations which participated in the OTS’s consultation, providing a short paper in May 2019.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 3rd February 2020

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

Civil partnerships for heterosexual couples: what you need to know – Family Law

‘As of 31st December 2019, it is now possible for both same-sex and heterosexual couples to enter into a civil partnership. The institution was initially devised solely for same-sex couples through the Civil Partnership Act 2004; it was meant to be a distinct separate relationship status for same-sex couples akin, but different to, a marriage. This has now changed and moving into 2020, heterosexual couples may opt for a civil partnership instead of a marriage.’

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Family Law, 5th February 2020

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

International charitable trusts and IHT exemption – Wilberforce Chambers

Posted November 26th, 2019 in charities, inheritance tax, news, trusts by sally

‘The Supreme Court, in the recent decision of Routier v Revenue and Customs Commissioners (No 2) [2019] UKSC 43, [2019] 3 WLR 757, has provided valuable guidance as to the scope of s. 23 of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 (which exempts gifts to charities from IHT). The case is a welcome decision for private clients and their estate planners wishing to support international charitable causes while simultaneously benefitting from reduced liability to inheritance tax.’

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Wilberforce Chambers, 8th November 2019

Source: www.wilberforce.co.uk

New Judgment: Routier v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2019] UKSC 43 – UKSC Blog

‘The issue in this appeal was whether a movement of capital between the United Kingdom and Jersey should be regarded as an internal transaction taking place within a single member state for the purposes of article 56 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community; and if not, whether the refusal of relief under section 23 in respect of the gift to the Coulter Trust is justifiable under EU law.’

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UKSC Blog, 16th October 2019

Source: ukscblog.com

Inheritance tax: Rules on gifts to loved ones ‘should be simplified’ – BBC News

Posted July 8th, 2019 in inheritance tax, news, statistics, taxation by sally

‘Fewer people should have to pay tax on gifts given just before death, under proposals for a major overhaul of the inheritance tax system.’

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BBC News, 5th July 2019

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Residential Nil Rate Band: A Path through the Maze – Radcliffe Chambers

Posted December 12th, 2018 in inheritance tax, news, trusts, wills by sally

‘In late 2015, the Government introduced an additional nil rate band for inheritance tax purposes applying where a deceased person’s interest in their residence is “closely inherited” by their children and other descendants, known as the residential nil rate band (“RNRB”). The objective was to meet the criticism that the estates of persons, who are by no means wealthy, were being dragged into the inheritance tax net by virtue only of the historic rise in residential property prices.’

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Radcliffe Chambers, 5th December 2018

Source: www.radcliffechambers.com

The inheritance tax burden and civil partnerships for cohabiting siblings: right idea, wrong approach? – Family Law

‘Family Law in Partnership director David Allison and associate Carla Ditz re-examine how and why civil partnerships came into being, the successful campaign to allow heterosexual couples to enter into a civil partnership and the proposals for 2committed siblings” to be able to form civil partnerships.’

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Family Law, 24th October 2018

Source: www.familylaw.co.uk

Inheritance tax: a brief history of death duties – The Guardian

Posted April 12th, 2016 in housing, inheritance tax, news, succession, taxation by sally

‘Modern inheritance tax dates back to 1894 when the government introduced estate duty, a tax on the capital value of land, in a bid to raise money to pay off a £4m government deficit.’

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The Guardian, 10th April 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Inheritance tax should be scrapped – it’s unpopular and barely raises any money

Posted April 12th, 2016 in inheritance tax, news, tax avoidance, tax evasion, taxation by sally

‘Inheritance tax is a losing issue for the left and the right, despite raising a mere quarter of 1 per cent of GDP.’

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The Independent, 11th April 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

When is property added to a settlement “excluded property”? – New Square Chambers

Posted December 9th, 2015 in HM Revenue & Customs, inheritance tax, news, taxation by sally

‘The decision of Mann J. in Barclays Wealth Trustees (Jersey) Ltd and Michael Dreelan v HMRC [2015]EWHC 2878 (Ch) answers an important question regarding what is excluded property for purposes of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 s.48(3). This provides that foreign situs property which is settled property is excluded property for IHT purposes unless the settlor was domiciled in the U.K. at the time the settlement was made. Suppose a settlement was made when the settlor was domiciled outside the U.K, he subsequently becomes domiciled in the U.K and then adds foreign property to the settlement. Is the added property excluded property? HMRC have always contended that it is not. It has been argued in leading textbooks that it is. Mann J. has decided that HMRC are right.’

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New Square Chambers, 1st December 2015

Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk