Published on 23 Jun 2010 • England, Wales |
"Perhaps more important is the direction of travel which the initiatives on foreign profits, intellectual property and R&D signal. But ... [t]hese new proposals will only help if they become legislative measures reasonably quickly and are not hedged about by Treasury paranoia. Now is the time for action: not speeches and lengthy consultation processes."
"Whilst the increase in CGT rates may not be as great as was feared, the lack of any grandfathering provisions could be seen as draconian. There will be individuals who have entered into bona fide sale agreements with third parties which are legally binding on them but may have commercial conditions which need to be satisfied. As the disposal will not be triggered until the condition is satisfied, any gain will fall to be taxed at the higher rate unless all the conditions were satisfied prior to 23rd June. As the seller will not be able to get out of the contract, this is retrospective taxation. He would have entered into an agreement knowing what the tax effect would be, only to find himself locked into a deal where the tax charge is much higher."
"The additional restriction on the proportion of reliefs that can be surrendered through a consortium relationship does not strike an obvious blow for predictability, stability and simplicity. This has the potential to affect a huge number of joint venture arrangements. If HMRC could say just what it is that's bothering them, then consultation could help to achieve an appropriately targeted change."