Legal News

Methanex Trinidad ( Titan) Unlimited v The Board of Inland Revenue ( Trinidad and Tobago) [2025] UKPC 20 What are the practical implications of this case? The Privy Council’s ruling underscores the primacy of correctly identifying the legal character of routine commercial payments and intra‑group transactions, and how that legal characterisation interfaces with the application of tax treaties. It dismissed the suggestion that the supposed ‘substance’ of the dealings in question departed from their legal form; rather, the transactions were to be treated as they stood in law. As the payments were neither ‘artificial’ nor ‘fictitious’, the tax authority was required to apply the CARICOM Tax Treaty to the transactions as it found them, and was not permitted to re‑label or recast them as anything else at law. In this way, the decision confirms that ordinary corporate arrangements, where genuine, must be respected for treaty...

In this issue: Probate Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients UK taxes for Private Client Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Insolvency— Private Client Charity and philanthropy Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Probate Court of Appeal rejects challenge that the deceased had not retained benefits in property and bank account trusts within section 102 of the Finance Act 1986 ( Chugtai v Revenue and Customs Commissioners). The appeal concerned inheritance tax and the operation of the gifts with reservation of benefit ( GROB) provisions set out in...

See Q& A: Where a donor of a lasting power of attorney appoints an attorney who lives overseas, under what circumstances can the attorney be reimbursed from the donor's bank accounts to fund their travel when returning to the UK? Powers of attorney constitute a species of agency, yet they are unlike standard commercial agencies because they serve to assure third parties that the attorney holds authority, and to clearly define its scope, rather than to regulate the internal relationship between principal and agent. The attorney’s obligations are largely shaped by the common law, together with doctrines drawn from the law of trusts and wider fiduciary principles, in practice......

In this issue Trusts Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Budgets and Finance Bills Contentious trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Trusts Insufficient credible evidence led to rejection of trustee expense claims ( Hubbard v Hubbard) An account in common form concerning a trust holding development land, with trustees reporting to beneficiaries. The court determined the trustees failed to properly substantiate numerous costs, leading to substantial disallowances. Core principles include: trustees bear the onus to prove...

See Q& A: Where a trust of a life policy otherwise falls within the definition of an 'excluded trust' set out in paragraph 4 of Schedule 3A of the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, does it lose that excluded trust status if it opens a non-interest bearing bank account in order to pay insurance premiums for the policy? It is assumed that the operation of the bank account is for no purpose other than to pay premiums In broad terms, all UK express trusts must register with the Trust Registration Service ( TRS), even where there is no UK tax charge, unless they fall within an exclusion expressly listed in the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds ( Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017, SI 2017/692, Sch 3A. However, those...

Key business tax announcements include: draft laws to overhaul UK provisions on transfer pricing, permanent establishments and the diverted profits tax a consultation proposing to extend transfer pricing rules to medium-sized businesses and to impose fresh reporting obligations on multinational groups for cross-border related-party dealings plans to create a working group to streamline and enhance administration of the Corporate Interest Restriction the government’s reply to the consultation on modernising the stamp duty on shares regime, plus a further consultation on elements of the 1.5% higher rate charge on certain overseas transfers of UK securities a consultation exploring reforms to HMRC’s dispute resolution approach, and the government’s response on tackling non-compliance, both within the Tax Administration Framework Review changes aimed at narrowing the range of capital assets captured by the VAT Capital Goods Scheme a 12-month deferral of the move to mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind and...

Refinitiv Ltd v HMRC [2025] UKFTT 415 ( TC) The seven applicant companies were part of the Thomson Reuters Group and were parties to a series of intra‑group transactions with Thomson Reuters Global Resources ( TRGR), an entity that was tax resident in Switzerland. They sought directions from the FTT requiring all enquiries to be closed; in one case, they instead requested a partial closure. HMRC agreed that closure notices ought to be issued in respect of the four companies that were not engaged in judicial review proceedings. The other three companies had applied for judicial review, arguing that HMRC had misinterpreted the effect of an Advance Pricing Agreement and had acted in breach of its public law duties. In November 2024, the Court of Appeal dismissed that application, in R (oao Refinitiv and others) v HMRC [2024] EWCA Civ 1412. The...

Patel v Patel [2025] EWHC 560 ( Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling showcases the court’s down‑to‑earth method for settling a delicate question. Although outcomes are fact‑sensitive, the thread running through the authorities is the court’s primary aim to head off ‘unseemly’ quarrels within a deceased person’s family and to secure the ‘decent and respectful disposal of the body without undue delay’ (per Chief Master Shuman in Read v Hoarean [2024] EWHC 3274 ( Ch), cited). It further underlines that, even where the deceased’s intentions can be identified — something often fraught, given the risk of relatives misremembering or misunderstanding, or the deceased’s shifting preferences — those intentions are not conclusive and may yield to other factors, most notably the wishes of the living and the practical realities of disposal. Such balancing reflects a pragmatic approach and...

See Q& A: Where an individual dies with UK nationality, domiciled in Scotland, with assets in England and Scotland, would their Will executed in accordance with the law of any part of the UK be validly executed under section 1 of the Wills Act 1963? What is the position as regards conflicts of laws as between England and Scotland? Which laws would apply to the succession of their moveable and immoveable assets situated in England and Scotland? Section 1 of the Wills Act 1963 ( WA 1963) sets out the overarching rule on the formal validity of a Will. In broad terms, a Will is regarded as validly executed if it accords with the internal law of any of the following: the country where it was executed; the country in which the testator was domiciled or habitually resident; or the country of which the...

In this issue: Probate Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Regulatory compliance for Private Client Insolvency—private client Contentious trusts and estates International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week No Weekly Highlights on 24 April 2025 Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Probate Non-exempt beneficiary’s share of estate liable for IHT under Re Ratcliffe ( Changizi v Changizi) Tax analysis: Following a deed of variation, the testator’s English estate was apportioned 5/6 to his widow and 1/6 to his son. The personal representatives had additionally settled inheritance tax ( IHT) arising from failed potentially exempt transfers ( PETs) made to the son, for which they bore a secondary liability. Substantial litigation had already occurred in the matter, generating significant costs that were ordered against the son. Once those costs and the IHT on the...

The UK tax authority indicated that sanctions for non-compliance with exchange requirements may rise to £3,000 for each error within a submission. This could be levied in addition to a £1,000 charge for every day the financial institution has failed to adhere to the rules......

See Q& A: Executor of estate passes away suddenly The deceased executor’s Will appoints an executor, who then secures a grant of probate for the late executor’s own estate. Does that person, having taken the grant for the deceased executor’s Will, automatically become the executor of any or all other estates where the deceased had previously acted? The outcome hinges on two factors: whether the deceased executor ( D) was the sole executor of the estate they were due to administer (the Estate); and whether probate had been granted in respect of the Estate before D’s death. We have looked at each situation below: if D had one or......

Changizi v Changizi and others [2025] EWHC 735 ( Ch) The son argued that inheritance tax ( IHT) on the estate ought to be taken from the residuary fund before any division between him and his mother, invoking Re Benham's Will Trusts [1995] STC 21. By contrast, the executors split the residue into exempt and chargeable elements, then met the IHT solely from the taxable portion attributed to the son, relying on the later authority of Re Ratcliffe [1999] STC 262. The High Court ( HC) determined that Re Ratcliffe supplies the correct approach, while Re Benham was exceptional and turned on its own facts, setting no general principle. Section 41(b) of the Inheritance Tax Act 1984 prohibits deducting IHT from the exempt share of residue and must therefore be applied. Consequently, the executors’...

In this issue Probate Trusts Court of Protection UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals tracker Insolvency—private client Digital assets and cryptoassets International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& A Useful information Probate IHT400 revised and new IHT401a schedule to note non long-term residence of the deceased With the residence-based IHT regime commencing on 6 April 2025, and as highlighted in HMRC’s Trusts and Estates newsletter, HMRC has refreshed Form IHT400 and introduced schedule IHT401a to address cases where the deceased was not a long-term UK resident at the date of death. Sources: Inheritance Tax: long-term United Kingdom ( UK) residence (...

See Q& A: If an executor has intermeddled, can they have power reserved to them? An executor is regarded as having intermeddled when they undertake tasks connected to the deceased’s estate. By undertaking such steps, the individual in effect takes on the duties of a personal representative ( PR), even where they would prefer not to serve in that role......

In this issue: UK taxes for Private Client Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance HMRC Manuals updates Contentious trusts and estates Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland International Question of the week Additional Private Client updates this week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information UK taxes for Private Client Updated HMRC interest rates for late and early payments Following the making of the Taxes and Duties, etc ( Interest Rate) ( Amendment) Regulations 2025, SI 2025/386, HMRC has refreshed the ‘ HMRC interest rates for late and early payments’ page. From 6 April 2025, interest on late payments for all taxes will rise by 1.5%. As a...

Refer to the Q& A: Which options are open to an individual who aims to pass their residuary estate, in a tax‑efficient manner, on trust for a spouse for life, followed by a flexible charitable benefit with the trustees choosing the charitable recipients? Would the estate qualify for the residence nil rate band? Charitable Will trusts Practice Note: Will drafting—gifts to charities, particularly the section entitled ‘ Charitable Will trusts’, explores ways in which a person may place assets on trust for charity. Although charitable trusts are, in principle, treated as relevant property for IHT, legislation intervenes to exempt property held solely for charitable purposes, whether for a limited period or otherwise......

Rukhadze v Recovery Partners GP Ltd [2025] UKSC 10 What are the practical implications? The majority concluded that the liability to account for unauthorised gains is strict in nature and does not turn on whether the principal might have earned an equivalent profit, or would have agreed to the fiduciary retaining some or all of it if permission had been sought. It is, in short, enough that there is a sufficient connection between the fiduciary obligation and the gain. What was the background? The facts are complex but can be outlined very briefly so as to frame the issue now before the Supreme Court. The dispute followed the death of the Georgian billionaire Patarkatsishvili (known as ‘ Badri’, a name familiar to aficionados of oligarch litigation). The claimants (and associated parties) agreed with his family that they would deliver services to recover his assets...

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In this issue: Spring Statement 2025 Probate UK taxes for Private Client HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Regulatory compliance for Private Client Contentious trusts and estates Art and heritage property, landed estates and farming families International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts Lex Talk® Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q& As Useful information Spring Statement 2025 Spring Statement 2025—key points On Wednesday 26 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, presented the government’s Spring Budget. There were no fresh measures for Private Client tax advisers—disappointing for those with clients likely to be affected by the planned reforms to business property relief and agricultural property relief from April 2026. Nor was there any sign of a rethink on the proposal to levy an IHT charge on pensions on death. By contrast, tackling non-compliance took centre stage, with announcements of new...