Goodwill and trade-related premises

The introduction of an exemption from stamp duty for the disposal of goodwill and other intangibles and the corporation tax intangibles regime in FA 2003 have combined to both create some interesting planning opportunities and technical issues to debate. Leaving aside the basic question as to the scope of the term ‘trade-related premises’, a major issue is the question of valuation and a just and reasonable apportionment. The difficulty is compounded by the lack of a common framework: for CGT and SDLT it is necessary to consider the legal concept of goodwill, based on rather limited jurisprudence. For the intangibles regime, the focus is on the accounting concept.