Top ten cases of 2023

1. Fisher: share sale outside the transfer of assets abroad rules

The case of HMRC v Fisher [2023] UKSC 44 concerned a UK betting business owned by a husband and wife and their son and daughter. To avoid UK betting duty the business was transferred to a Gibraltar company. HMRC issued discovery assessments on the parents and son (the daughter was non-UK resident) under the transfer of assets abroad legislation ICTA 1988 ss 739–746 (now ITA 2007 ss 714–751). HMRC argued that because the taxpayers had a controlling interest in the company they could be regarded as the transferors even though it was the company that had transferred its business. The taxpayers argued that the company’s actions could not be attributed to them.

The Supreme Court held that because the legislation was ‘punitive’ its scope should be limited. There was no statutory definition or criteria on what it...

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