The most straightforward means of minimising Inheritance Tax (IHT) payable on your estate is to give away your assets with warm hands when you are still hale and hearty. However, such gifts will bring no tax advantages at all unless they are absolute and unreserved.
Government bureaucratic delays are sadly a well-known fact of life, but can they give rise to a right to compensation? The Court of Appeal tackled that fundamental issue in the case of an immigrant who was unable to work for more than two years due
Trusts that are intended, but fail, to yield tax advantages are fiendishly difficult to untangle once created – but it can be done with the right legal advice. A businessman who transferred ownership of his home and classic car collection to offshore trusts in the forlorn
The balance of power between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and individual taxpayers may appear to be all one way. However, as a Court of Appeal decision showed, expert legal advice can be highly effective in levelling the playing field. HMRC wished to open an
Solicitors help all sorts of people establish all sorts of rights and their services are not restricted to the well-heeled. In a good example, lawyers won a point of principle on behalf of a dyslexic student seeking exemption from Council Tax. A dwelling that is
Money, once parted with, can be very hard to recover and sensible people seek legal advice before handing over cash even to their loved ones. The point was powerfully made by a case in which a woman lent six-figure sums to a boyfriend who turned
Those who fail to promptly and accurately answer requests from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for information about their tax affairs are at risk of penal sanctions. The Court of Appeal has, however, ruled in a guideline case that financial penalties totalling more than £1
