Inheritance Tax and Trusts newsletter

The August edition of the Inheritance Tax (IHT) and Trusts newsletter is now available on the HMRC website. Key points to note include:

l The new provisions allowing the transfer of unused nil rate band to a surviving spouse became law when the Finance Act received Royal Assent on 21 July. HMRC have issued confirmation that these arrangements are now in force to estates where the new rules had been adopted provisionally.

l HMRC urge agents who are dealing with estates in this category to supply the necessarily supporting details for the claim. They note that “in only 20 per cent of cases submitted by agents are all the requested documents provided. This is in stark contrast to claims made by unrepresented taxpayers who manage [sic] to provide all the documents at the first time of asking.”

l The banking arrangements for IHT are in the process of being transferred to the Shipley Accounts Office. This has been underway for a number of months, with Shipley payslips being issued to taxpayers with a liability to pay. The main impact will be that taxpayers will no longer receive an individual receipt for IHT payments. Instead, they will be able to track payments through statements of account, as for other taxes. The transfer of all IHT banking to Shipley is expected to be complete by the end of 2008, but correspondence is of course unaffected and should still be sent to the relevant tax office.

l A further new development is the new IHT form, designed in consultation with unrepresented taxpayers to make calculations clearer and completion of the return easier. The new form is numbered IHT400, with supplementary pages numbered 401 onwards, and will be in use from the Autumn.

l New versions of forms R185 (Trust Income) and R185 (Estate Income) are also available which take account of the changes to the Trusts supplementary pages to the main return.

l HMRC wish to remind agents that there is no need to apply for an IHT reference for an estate where there is no tax to pay.

l Guidance was provided on the treatment of shares in Northern Rock on certain estates currently being administered – we reported on this guidance back in July.

And finally, HMRC announce that future editions will be published on the “What’s new?” page on the website – there will no longer be an email notification. However, we will provide a summary of the main contents for each newsletter from now on.

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Case Studies

The Tax Man

Minimise the stress of an investigation and make use of our extensive experience in securing best outcome for our clients

Business Valuation in Distress

Take advantage of our impartial and rigorous due diligence procedures

FD in The Cupboard

Our innovative ideas are here to improve your business performance and secure appropriate and cost effective funding

The Tax Man

The Tax Man

A new client was introduced to us via a recommendation with whom we arranged to meet on a regular basis in order to determine a number of changes that we felt were needed to their business structure. The client was at the time operating as a husband and wife partnership. The business was flourishing and had a number of large contracts with big organisations.

At the start of the process they were still heavily immersed in their day to day operations so we can get a full flavour for their ambitions, aspirations and growth plans. We quickly recognised there were sufficient tax savings which can be achieved by changing the structure from a partnership to a corporate entity. We carried out a business valuation and disposed of the goodwill from the old to the new business. Unfortunately, as often is the case with efficient tax planning, HMRC got involved and disputed our valuation.

An HMRC investigation can be a very stressful time for any client, even for those best prepared. However, our client had minimal input in the HMRC communication as we dealt with this professionally behind the scene. As an added benefit, our client could rest on the security that all work was covered by insurance and therefore all costs and time in dealing with this enquiry were covered by the fee protection policy we had put in place.

The initial approach taken by HMRC was very aggressive and they tried to present an argument that there was no goodwill in the business. We challenged HMRC’s view that the goodwill was worthless. After lengthy correspondence and numerous telephone calls, HMRC agreed 100% with our original valuation, which preserved our original tax saving plan for the client. Tax savings on this case where in the region of £75K at the outset, with ongoing savings of £6,000 per annum. We are pleased to add another happy client to our portfolio.

Business Valuation in Distress

Business Valuation in Distress

Selling a business is never an easy process, but when disputes arise, the need for a reliable third party due diligence process is even greater.

Tearle & Carver have extensive understanding of the requirements for remaining objective when managing a potentially difficult company buyout. In one such case, we were approached by the courts to act as independent accountant for an acrimonious business sale in which one partner was exiting the business and selling shares to the other. Given the circumstances, both sides had totally polar views of what their business was worth.

After arranging an initial meeting with the company, we were thorough in ensuring we completed due diligence, validating the figures in the accounting records, carrying out adjustments where appropriate, and drafting a set of reliable management figures within the framework required by the court.

A draft version of the report detailing our findings and conclusions was submitted to both parties, giving them the opportunity to voice any queries or concerns and ensure all relevant factors had been taken into account.

Through this process, we were able to submit a final report to the courts that was both binding and acceptable to both parties, effectively resolving what could otherwise have been a time consuming and costly process for all sides.

FD in The Cupboard

FD in The Cupboard

For smaller companies, it is often not possible or cost effective to pay for a full-time Financial Director.
Many of our clients therefore make use of Tearle & Carver’s extensive expertise to provide the services of an FD as and when required.

In this case, we were approached by the management team of an organisation looking to acquire the existing business via an MBO (Management buy out). Their business plan had proved ineffective for securing funding, and what they needed was financial expertise from someone with a developed understanding of the company’s internal workings.

Tearle & Carver helped deliver the solution our clients were looking through utilising our bank contacts in order to make the MBO viable, while also building a robust business plan and preparing our client for the rigorous vetting process. To help with cash flow issues, we introduced factoring which led to improved cash flow management.

We advised on the appropriate business valuation and structure, and continued to prepare monthly accounts to track profgress once the management were fully in command of all the information they needed to move their business forward.

In order to best assist these clients through the crucial first year of ownership, we attended board meetings on a regular basis, a service that we continue to provide to date.

With our continually developing understanding of their business, this client is able to remain confident that Tearle & Carver can provide any financial support they may need, now and in the future.