Reasonable to avoid s 455, but is it an unreasonable charge?

The GAAR Advisory Panel published on 21 July 2022 concerned a loan to a participator chargeable under CTA 2010 s 455 and its repayment through transactions involving group companies. It is of note as being the only occasion so far on which the panel has sided with a taxpayer and considered tax arrangements referred to it to be a reasonable course of action. The panel did not think that the arrangements involved ‘contrived or abnormal steps’ and it noted that the arrangements potentially highlighted a shortfall in the legislation with the new loans clearing the director’s loan account balance ‘so there was nothing for the s 455 tax charge to bite on’. It is questionable though whether s 455 continues to warrant its place on the statute book at all. Paying a dividend has no tax consequences for a company so why should paying something...