Times: HMRC has big win against tax avoidance scheme
A landmark victory for Revenue & Customs to deny wealthy investors £117 million in tax relief has ushered in a new era of intolerance towards tax avoidance by the rich.
Eclipse 35, a film investment partnership whose members include Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, was barred from claiming tax relief on a complex £1 billion deal with Disney.
If the 2007 scheme had succeeded, each of the 289 members of Eclipse 35 could have enjoyed an average of £404,000 in tax relief on a personal investment of £173,000. Other investors included Sven-Göran Eriksson, the former England manager, as well as bankers, chief executive officers and hedge-fund managers.
The decision of a tax tribunal could have a wide-reaching effect on dozens of other film schemes as well as other investments designed to achieve high tax reliefs, experts said.
To read the full story, visit thetimes.co.uk
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Q
In this new anti-tax-avoidance era, when so many tax reliefs have been withdrawn, I've heard that investing in a Business Property Renovation Allowance scheme is one of the few remaining good opportunities for maxing your tax position. Is it true that you can get up to 100 per cent tax relief on the amount invested? And what exactly are these schemes? How do they work? What are the upsides? Downsides?
A
In this climate, it is a relief to see one potentially attractive tax allowance come through unscathed from recent criticism
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