We are delighted to be publishing our latest edition of Tax Aware (Issue 24). Before we turn to this Issue's articles, we are pleased to share some exciting news: our Corporate Tax team has been nominated for 'Best Corporate or Business Tax Practice' at the Tolley's Tax Awards. The ceremony will take place this month, when winners will be announced. Congratulations to all involved; a thoroughly deserved recognition.
This Issue opens with an analysis of the Court of Appeal's decision in Burlington Loan Management DAC, which delivers a clear message to taxpayers: using a tax relief that Parliament has deliberately enacted is not, by itself, abusive, and that HMRC's increasingly defensive approach to the clearance process should not go unchallenged. We then consider the IHT planning opportunities available to US nationals relocating to the UK, specifically the use of a Treaty Protected Trust to permanently shield non-UK assets from IHT under the US/UK Estate Tax Treaty; a route that remains open despite last year's non-domicile reforms.
Next, we examine the recent decision in Hosking v HMRC, a salutary reminder that the tax exemptions available to political donors are narrow in scope and strictly applied. We then turn to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which has finally come into effect from 6 April 2026, and consider who is within scope, what the new filing obligations mean in practice, and why the £50,000 threshold may catch more individuals than expected.
We follow this with an assessment of how far the "exceptional circumstances" exemption under the UK Statutory Residence Test can be relied upon by globally mobile individuals affected by geopolitical events. We then provide a guide to the IHT treatment of gifts to exempt and non-exempt beneficiaries in a Will, and the important distinctions that flow from the case law. We then examine a less well-known consequence of the April 2027 pension changes: the risk that existing 10% charitable legacy clauses in Wills could result in a significantly larger gift than the testator originally intended.
We next report on the recently signed Tax Information Exchange Agreement between the US and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a significant development in the international effort to combat tax evasion and improve fiscal transparency. Finally, we examine another knock-on consequence of the April 2027 pension changes, this time impacting Self Invested Pension Plans holding commercial property: how taxpayers should respond will require a weighing up of significant trade-offs.
Please do let us know if you would like us to consider anything in particular for the next Tax Aware.
For now, we hope you enjoy this Issue and thank you for your continued support and readership.