Released on 10 May 2019 in Spotlight 51 , HMRC warned taxpayers about a tax avoidance scheme that attempts to disguise income and other taxable profits as loans or fiduciary receipts.
The scheme itself is different to the one used by contractors or freelance workers (highlighted by HMRC earlier in Spotlight 33 ) and has been marketed as a wealth management strategy claiming to provide remuneration or profits free of tax using a remuneration trust with trustees based offshore.The typical scheme user could be a self-employed individual, partner in a partnership or a company or a company director.
HMRC’s strong view is that this and similar schemes do not work and they will challenge both the promoters and users of the scheme.
Spotlight 51 can be found here.
Further details to follow.
For advice and assistance on this issue, please contact Robert Drysdale or any member of the Wealth Planning team.
