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VAT Voice by Steve AllenSteve Allen, Director of VAT Solutions (UK) Ltd, comments on a recent ECJ decision concerning the VAT treatment of capital goods used for business and private purposesOn 14 July 2005, the ECJ released its judgment in the case of P. Charles and T.S. Charles-Tijmens v Staatssecretaris van Financien (C-434/03), a Dutch referral on the VAT treatment of capital goods used partly in a business and partly outside the business (in particular for private purposes). The factsThe appellants ... Continue Reading

Capital Tax Review by Matthew Hutton, MA, CTA (Fellow), AIIT, TEPMatthew Hutton MA, CTA (fellow), AIIT, TEP author of Capital Tax Review, considers the potential effect of the pre-owned assets tax on the occupation of holiday homes.ContextAn individual (or, perhaps, even better, a married couple – given the two £5,000 de minimis exemptions) might have satisfied either the disposal or the contribution condition in relation to a family holiday home which they use from time to time. Let us say a ... Continue Reading

TaxationWeb by Julie Butler, FCAJulie Butler, FCA, of Butler & Co, examines farmers’ milk quota and some important related tax considerationsThe plight of the arable farmer is often the subject of nationwide coverage when there is bad weather, but what of the dairy farmer, who needs the summer rain to produce the lush grass for the dairy herd in order to produce a good volume of milk? When and why were milk quotas introduced?Milk quotas were introduced by the Council of EEC Agriculture Ministers ... Continue Reading

Tolley's Practical Tax by Anne Redston MA(Oxon), FCA, CTA (Fellow)Anne Redston reviews the High Court judgment in Jones v GarnettIn April 2003 the Revenue announced that they were using the settlements legislation contained in ICTA 1988. ss660A-G to attack certain small husband and wife businesses. Their position is set out in the April 2003 Tax Bulletin article ‘Businesses, Individuals and the Settlements legislation’ and also in A Guide to the Settlements Legislation for Small Business Advisers ... Continue Reading

TaxationWeb by Bob Fraser MBA MA FSFABob Fraser, MBE, MBA, MA, of Rensburg Investment Management Ltd, points out the importance of pensions and some of the main features of the forthcoming new pension regimeWe are now within 12 months of the fundamental changes to the UK pension legislation. To reaffirm why pensions are so important to each of us, the table below, based on recent mortality tables, shows the ages beyond which 50 per cent and 25 per cent of male and female annuitants aged 65 can ... Continue Reading

Capital Tax Review by Matthew Hutton, MA, CTA (Fellow), AIIT, TEPMatthew Hutton MA, CTA (fellow), AIIT, TEP author of Capital Tax Review, points out that gifts holdover relief and private residence relief can still be a useful combination in appropriate cases.ContextAs is well known, FA 2004 Sch 22 put paid, as from 10 December 2003, to the traditional device of the combination of hold-over relief under TCGA 1992, s 260 and main residence relief for the trustees under TCGA 1992, s 225 on disposal ... Continue Reading

VAT Voice by Steve AllenThree topical VAT tips, brought to you by VAT Solutions (UK) Ltd1. Be prepared for HM Revenue & Customs checks on private use of mobile phones by employeesBusinesses that provide their staff with mobile phones should ensure that they either reclaim only the input VAT on the ‘business’ element of the phone bills, or else pay output VAT on the ‘private’ element. We issue this reminder on back of hearing that HM Revenue & Customs are asking some businesses to undertake ... Continue Reading

Taxation by Mark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow) ATT TEPMark McLaughlin CTA (Fellow), ATT, TEP, considers a problem with Code of Practice 10 taper relief rulings on trading company status, and offers a possible solution.It always worried me when HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) announce a clarification of legislation. Past experience causes apprehension that the ‘clarification’ is going to leave me even more uncertain than before! A recent example of this is HMRC’s guidance on the definition of ‘trading ... Continue Reading

VAT Voice by Andrew NeedhamAndrew Needham, Director of VAT Solutions (UK) Ltd, considers the VAT position of corporate finance services.Corporate finance services may take a variety of forms: • raising capital • share placement • acquisition/merger Determining the liabilityIn determining the liability, the essential question to address is whether the deal concerned involves the supply of an intermediary service falling within Item 7 of Group 5 of the VAT Act 1994. An intermediary service ... Continue Reading

TaxationWeb by Arthur WellerArthur Weller outlines some useful tax reliefs potentially available for the property developer/renovator.Business Premises Renovation Allowances (BPRA)The Government are proposing a new scheme, the Business Premises Renovation Allowance (BPRA), to provide 100 per cent capital allowances for the capital costs of renovating or converting unused business premises in disadvantages areas in order to bring them back into business use. What this means is that you will be able ... Continue Reading