- The case of HMRC v The Executors of Lord Howard of
Henderskelfe (deceased) related to a painting owned by the
late Lord Howard, which hung in the part of Castle Howard which was
open to the public and run as a business. The Executors argued that
the painting was “plant” used in the trade and should
be treated as a “wasting asset” for capital gains tax
purposes. The Court of Appeal has recently confirmed this analysis
on appeal from the Upper Tax Tribunal, meaning that there was no
capital gains tax on a sale of the painting.
- Under the Finance Act 2014, companies which benefit from
specific renewable energy credits and incentives will no longer
qualify as Enterprise Investment Schemes or Venture Capital Trusts.
Taxpayers looking to shelter gains in such entities will therefore
need to fund the EIS or VCT before Royal Assent, likely to be
mid-July 2014. Changes will also be introduced for partnerships
– ‘junior’ partners could be treated as employees
under these changes, rather than partners, and where corporate
partners are indirectly owned by individual partners, the profits
of the corporate partner will likely be treated as those of the
individual partner(s) and taxed at the higher rates.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
