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M&S and the ‘no possibilities’ test
Originally printed in Tax Journal on 24 May 2013.
Claims for group relief for the losses of companies in the group in other EU Member States must meet the condition that the possibilities for past, present and future use of the losses locally must be exhausted. The Supreme Court has concluded, in the latest stage of the M&S case, that the date upon which that condition must be met is the date of the claim and not, as HMRC has advocated, the end of the accounting period in which the loss was incurred. Steps taken by taxpayers, such as the liquidation of the loss making subsidiary, will not exclude the making of a claim.
The author acts on behalf of Marks and Spencer in this case.
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Advances in technology and increased international fiscal co-operation have made global personal tax compliance initiatives pop up in abundance in recent years. To compound the issue, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the corresponding economic fallout prompted domestic governments to increase transparency in relation to investments held by wealthy foreign individuals (with a focus on oligarchs).
In the UK, in the context of the cost-of-living crisis, public opinion certainly seems to be in favour of increased accountability for high-net-worth individuals (eg, on 9 October 2022, 63% of Britons surveyed thought that “the rich are not paying enough and their taxes should be increased”).1
HMRC is one of the most sophisticated tax collection authorities in the world and the department is making significant investments in technology in the field of compliance work; they are well placed to take advantage of new international efforts to increase tax compliance, particularly considering the already extensive network of 130 bilateral tax treaties in the UK (the largest in the world).2 The UK was also a founding member of the OECD’s Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC) forum.
This article discusses the main developments in support of the increased focus on international transparency and personal tax compliance in the UK. There are other international fiscal initiatives, particularly in the field of corporate taxation, but such initiatives are beyond the scope of this article.
It should be noted that a somewhat piecemeal approach, with constant tinkering makes compliance difficult for the taxpayer and is often criticised for lacking the certainty that a stable tax system needs to thrive.
This article was first published with ThoughtLeaders4 Private Client Magazine
