HMRC backs down on proposals to extend UK income tax withholding to ‘short’ interest, to the relief of group treasurers and the commercial paper and repo markets alike. HMRC also abandons plans to remove the quoted Eurobond exemption for intra-group debt and to require withholding on funding bonds to be paid in cash. UBS wins and Deutsche Bank loses in the ‘restricted securities’ case lottery, although the Upper Tribunal’s attempts to rein in ‘broad Ramsay’ are generally welcome. George Osborne announces plans for ‘employee-owners’ to trade employment rights for CGT-free shares.
